When it came to empowering women, McClure roared

Florence McClure received a well-deserved standing ovation Wednesday for her work to empower women and help rape victims and female prisoners. She'd received such ovations before. This was the final one. This was her funeral.

Before the last goodbyes, before the last ovation, the song "I Am Woman" was played. The jubilant 1972 Helen Reddy song celebrating women's strength and ability to bring about change was the perfect song for Florence, who was 88 when she died Nov. 5.

The most touching part of her service came from her son, James McClure II, and her daughter, Carolyn Dunne.

"She gave me the moral compass I have inside me," her son said.

Her daughter said her mother would see a problem and say, "What are we going to do about it?" Then she would organize a coalition that worked toward a solution. "The best legacy she can have is if we keep striving."

She needed politicians to get the job done, and two of them spoke at her funeral -- former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan and state Sen. Bob Coffin. She latched on to the two Democrats, convinced them her cause was just and worked with them to change laws and help Nevada women.

When Bryan was a state senator in 1975, she told the former prosecutor the state laws needed to be changed so rape victims couldn't be asked about their sexual past, a practice so horrifying many women decided not to prosecute.

With Coffin, she worked on finding permanent funding for the Rape Crisis Center, which she co-founded with Sandra Petta in 1974. The funding came from an appropriate source -- adding a few dollars to the cost of a divorce.

When the prison director wanted a women's prison located in Pioche, McClure worked with legislators to block that ... and succeeded. The prison opened in North Las Vegas in 1997 and is far more accessible to Clark County families.

When the Legislature decided in 2007 to name the prison in her honor, she was delighted. "This will survive," she said joyfully.

The secret of her success was persistence and smart coalition building. She didn't work alone. Working with respected women's organizations, she succeeded in changing laws dealing with spousal rape, child pornography and victim compensation.

"Let's give tribute to a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer," said her friend Sam King.

When she worked bills in the Legislature, some lawmakers would duck to avoid her, because she would nab them and talk passionately for 45 minutes about her cause.

To persuade lawmakers to close the women's prison in Carson City, she organized a surprise visit for lawmakers showing that, at night, women weren't allowed to use the bathroom and had to urinate and defecate in coffee cans. It worked.

The crowd at the service included many women (and men) who worked with Florence over the years. When the service ended with "I Am Woman," more than a few heads were bobbing along at the lyrics that became the song of the women's movement:

I am woman, hear me roar

In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an' pretend

'Cause I've heard it all before

And I've been down there on the floor

No one's ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise

But it's wisdom born of pain

Yes, I've paid the price

But look how much I gained

If I have to

I can do anything

I am strong (strong)

I am invincible (invincible)

I am woman

There are women in Nevada who have never heard of her, yet their lives are better because of the roaring lioness, Florence McClure.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.