Clera Rorex was a legend. She issued marriage licenses to six same sex couples in Boulder County starting in 1975, decades before same-sex marriage was legalized by the 2015 landmark Obergefell v. Hodges U.S. Supreme Court Decision. On Thursday, she posthumously received the Mountain Leader Award at the Governor’s Citizenship Medal Celebration. 

Rorex’s was a life of activism, and as a feminist asking for equal rights, she felt it was not her place to deny someone also seeking equal rights, according to a quote from the awards webpage. Rorex passed away in June 2022. 

Rorex joins Pat Bowlen and Emily Griffith as a recipient  of the Mountain Leader Award. The award is given to a community leader or enduring organization that has provided an innovative impact on the state of Colorado, according to the award’s webpage. 

At times, Rorex’s dedication to activism, feminism and blunt honesty made motherhood difficult, according to her son Scott Poston. However, she raised him to the best of her abilities, and after reflection and 55 years lived, Poston said he is grateful. 

“In hindsight, I’m glad because I look at now at my adult life, I’m 55 years old and I look back on it as being thankful for having a mom that exposed me to so many new ideas,” he said. “They really gave me a broader view of people and categories of people.”

Rorex’s service did not stop when she left the Boulder County Clerk’s office, however. Over the course of her life, she volunteered with Out Boulder County, an organization dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ people “thrive in Boulder County and beyond,” according to their mission and vision page. 

As a lifelong activist and feminist, Poston said the years of the Trump presidency were tough for his mother. The rollback of Roe v. Wade undid decades of work, and “really hurt her,” he said.  However, Rorex’s spirit was not broken. 

“Her mandate was always, change takes time. Meaningful political change takes time” he said. “She was always a believer that you have to keep fighting for equality issues and for for political freedom issues and for the freedom to love who you fall in love with.” 

Rorex raised Poston as a single mother. There was a short period of time after Rorex remarried and the new family moved to California, but for many reasons Poston said that didn’t last and they found themselves back in Boulder. 

That experience, combined with the life of activism and honesty led Poston to call attention to the single mothers navigating life. Poston was almost overcome with emotion as he reflected on what he believes his mother stood for in her lifelong commitment to activism and feminism.  

“I just want to make sure I express how much courage people have who walked life alone, because they believe in a politically progressive idea that’s not widely accepted yet, or because they’re just physically alone,” he said. “For me, that’s what my mom stands for is all those women and minorities who often find themselves without an ally.”