Jeanne Manford, a former Bronx schoolteacher who founded the group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), has died at the age of 92.

Manford became a crusader for the LGBT community in 1972 to show support for her gay son.

In the following four decades, she was widely credited as a pioneer for improving social understanding of the gay and lesbian community.

Manford also helped found the Queens chapter of PFLAG in 1993.

City Council Member Daniel Dromm of Queens compared her role to that of Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement.

In a 2009 speech, President Barack Obama referred to Manford's life work as "the story of America."