Anita Bryant, the singsongy beauty queen who spun her folksy Oklahoma charm into a career hawking orange juice and campaigning against gay rights, died last month at 84. When the news broke on Thursday,

Anita Bryant, a Grammy-nominated singer and former beauty queen who became known for her advocacy against gay rights in the 1970s, died Dec. 16. She was 84.

Anita Bryant Dry, entertainer and anti-gay rights activist, died in December in Edmond, according to an obituary submitted by her family. She was 84.

Anita Bryant, a former Miss Oklahoma, Grammy-nominated singer and prominent booster of orange juice and other products who became known over the second half of her life for her outspoken opposition to gay rights,

She was blacklisted and got a raw deal, but like her or not, she stuck to her convictions,” Anthony Verdugo, founder and executive director of the Christian Family Coalition.