Phyllis Frye was born in 1948 in San Antonio, Texas, and was the second of three children. Her father was an engineer, and her mother was a homemaker. In her younger years, she earned the rank of
Eagle Scout, and was a member of the
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Frye attended
Texas A&M University where she graduated with a B.S. in civil engineering and an M.S. in mechanical engineering. While at Texas A&M, Frye was a member of the university's
Corps of Cadets Frye joined the
United States Army, and post-graduation at Texas A&M, she was stationed in
West Germany, achieving the rank of
First lieutenant. Frye disclosed her struggles with her sexual identity to her Army superiors, and they sent her back to the United States in an effort to "cure" her. These efforts included drug therapy,
hypnosis, and
aversion therapy. When these attempts all failed, her first wife filed for divorce and took custody of their son. Frye was
honorably discharged from the Army in 1972 after being forced to resign. After her discharge from the Army, she hit a low point in her life and attempted suicide. After her suicide attempt, she began working as a
civil engineer, and became a
born-again Christian. In the fall of 1972, she met her second wife, a music teacher named Patricia "Trish" Dooley, and the two married in June 1973. She transitioned in 1976 around the age of 30, electing some medical procedures and foregoing others. Around this time, she also won the right to amend her birth certificate. Frye later became the country's first openly transgender judge in 2010, though she also experienced discrimination against her for this in both the private and public spheres, ranging from people vandalizing her house to refusing her jobs. Frye became the first transgender woman in Houston's lesbian softball league. Her spouse, Trish, died on September 28, 2020, from complications of brain cancer. ==Career==