Donna Keys and Pat Stone cut their wedding cake

And the history behind it

Story and photo courtesy of Pat Stone

Pat Stone, one of the founders of PFLAG Dallas, and her longtime partner Donna Keys were married Saturday, May 4, at a small ceremony at their friends’ home in the Cedar Creek area, surrounded by family and friends. This week, Pat reflected on their wedding and the journey that led them to it:

“As I look at that photo of Donna Keys and myself about to cut our wedding cake, I see such a happy, contented couple, so excited to finally be able to expand their 10-year devoted relationship into a legal, devoted marriage.

“We had a lovely wedding ceremony on May 4, 2024, at the home of good friends in the Cedar Creek Lake area. It was a small gathering of 16. It was such an incredible afternoon of being surrounded by such love, support and fun.

“There I am at 81 and Donna at 68 — ready for more good years ahead together.

“Before I talk more about our relationship and explain what took us so long to marry, I would like to look back at why I am so comfortable talking about it all with Dallas Voice and Tammye Nash. Today I looked through my scrapbook of clippings and saw so many supportive articles from this newspaper regarding my early work in the LGBT community. I will mention only a few.

“I was only about 49 when the Dallas Voice covered my being one of the founders of Dallas PFLAG in 1992 (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays): ‘North Texas Parents Join Battle: parents of lesbians & gays through local PFLAG chapter advocate for an end to discrimination’ (8-14-92). I soon became president of the chapter and served a year on the national board.

“My time with PFLAG is a huge highlight of my life. I feel we made a difference; it is a warm legacy for me. And it soon became a cause larger than seeking rights for my lesbian daughter. I truly wanted to help other families accept their LGBT loved ones.

“The Dallas Voice was also there for me when I realized I was lesbian in 1996 at age 53: ‘PFLAG chief’s coming out sparks concern’ (11-15-1996). Yes, it did cause concerns from some in both the gay and straight community, as well as from my family and friends. My husband was devastated by the divorce that followed after 35 years of marriage.

“This was a sad and conflicted time for me. My daughter understood, but it was harder for my son who worked daily with his dad. We all got through these challenges in time.

“There was the Dallas Voice article ‘PFLAG chapter re-elects Stone’(11-22-96). The solution was for me to serve out my fifth year as co-president with a straight dad.

That worked fine. I had only planned to serve five years. I stepped down from the helpline and no longer greeted the new parents. Sad, but the early 1990s were sometimes challenging in this area.

“After leaving PFLAG. I started a support group Late Bloomers. And Dallas Voice was there: ‘Late Bloomers designed to help women coming out later in life’ (6-2-1997). This was such a fun and important group, and I led it for about 13 years.

“The Dallas Voice article ‘Awakening: Pat Stone to discuss new memoir at Resource Center on Wednesday May 1, 2009,’ referred to my new book at that time.

“So this leads to my living in the Cedar Creek Lake area, where in 2013, two good friends set me up with the love of my life, Donna Keys. She had lost her partner of 22 years to cancer about a year-and-a-half before and had recently retired as a Dallas County adult felony probation officer.

“Our first date was a little awkward since it was a blind date, but the very next day we connected beautifully at lunch at Chili’s in Gun Barrel City. In fact, I still can’t believe I shared with her a recent dream I’d had about a hug from a tall, broad-shouldered person. It was a special, ‘unconditional love’ type hug, but I could only see the person from the back and couldn’t tell if they were a man or a woman. I was confused, but I told Donna that after seeing her 6-foot frame and broad shoulders, I felt that person was her. I can’t believe I told her that; it could have scared her away. Thank goodness it didn’t!

“Within a few months Donna asked me to marry her. I said yes, and we made plans to marry in Boston since it was not yet legal in Texas. Then we learned that if we married I would lose the Social Security benefits that I received due to my ex-husband.

“We were disappointed but continued to enjoy our 10-year relationship that seemed like a marriage. We enjoyed movies, playing Yahtzee and just being together with our family that includes my dog, Misty, Donna’s little Yorkie Lily and our cat Lucy.

“Sadly, my ex-husband passed away last December. When I called the Social Security Administration to inform them of his passing, they told me I could now remarry and keep my benefits. It’s more than bittersweet that his passing meant Donna and I could now marry.

“This brings me back to that wonderful photo of Donna and me cutting that wedding cake. We are so grateful that we met and have already had 10 wonderful years together. We are hoping for at least 10 more, and we will forever treasure that photo and wedding ceremony.”

The Cowboys were in no position to steal any thunder from the Mavericks and Stars on Thursday night.

But the club did take care of some business.

A short time before those two teams took the court and ice to resume their second-round playoff series, the Cowboys came to terms with all but one member of their rookie class. First-round pick Tyler Guyton and six other members of the team’s draft class reached agreements, two people with knowledge of the club’s actions told The Dallas Morning News.

Marshawn Kneeland, a second-round pick out of Western Michigan, is the lone rookie without a deal at this point.

Joining Guyton on the list of players signed are offensive lineman Cooper Beebe (third round), linebacker Marist Liufau (third round), cornerback Caelen Carson (fifth round), receiver Ryan Flournoy (sixth round), offensive lineman Nathan Thomas (seventh round) and defensive tackle Justin Rogers (seventh round).

The rookie class and others participating in this minicamp — it’s really more of an orientation session — began arriving at The Star on Thursday. The players are scheduled to take the practice field a couple of times Friday and again Saturday.

Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) periodically throughout the offseason.

Twitter: @ DavidMooreDMN

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

The Mavericks are looking to even their second-round series with Oklahoma City. After a disappointing second half in game one, the Mavericks are searching for offense. They have not been able to get Kyrie Irving going in the first half for the entirety of the playoffs, and tonight would be a perfect opportunity to start. If Dallas wants to take back home court, they are going to need to get Irving going early and get more out of Luka Doncic

Game Details

Fixture: Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder | NBA 2023-2024

Date and Time: Thursday, May 9th, 2024; 8:30 PM CST

Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK.

Outcome Odds

• Spread: Mavericks +5 (-110)
• O/U 218.5
• Mavs ML +164

Odds up to date as of 12:30 PM CST from DraftKings

The Mavericks are not going to get blown out again. They have been good all year at bouncing back and adjusting. Take Dallas +5.

Player Props

• Kyrie Irving over 3.5 three-pointers made (+142)
• P.J. Washington over 16.5 points + rebounds (-115)

Irving made three in just four attempts in game one. He has a great matchup this series and his volume should increase in game 2. Washington had his minutes limited by blowout and foul trouble. He had 10 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes, so if he plays his normal 34 then he should soar over this line.

Same Game Parlay

+750

• Mavericks money line
• Dereck Lively over 6.5 points
• Kyrie Irving over 23.5 points
• Mavericks team total over 106.5 points

This is the biggest game of Dallas’ season and I expect them to step up to the plate. Irving will need a big game and the Mavericks’ offense needs to show up. Dereck Lively should play more minutes so expect him to make an impact that is similar to Daniel Gafford.

Play of the Day

• Mavericks money line (+164)

The Mavericks have to win or their season might be over. They have two of the best “big moment” players in the league in their backcourt and they will tie this series.