Jazzie Collins, a community organizer and well-known transgender activist who was involved in social justice causes in San Francisco, died Thursday at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in the city.
She was 54 and had deteriorating health the past few weeks, friends said, although the cause of her death is being determined. Ms. Collins also was open about being HIV-positive.
Ms. Collins was active - friends describe her as "fiery" and a "passionate advocate" - in causes that were factors in her life: tenants' rights, workers' rights, transgender rights and aging and health issues, among others.
Christina Olague, a close friend and former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said Ms. Collins was motivated by strong feelings against injustice and unfairness.
"Empathetic is the word that comes to mind," she said.
Late last month, Ms. Collins was honored for her work at the Capitol in Sacramento by the California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.
"One thing that she always had that was very appealing was dignity," said Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who nominated Ms. Collins for the state recognition. "I think she understood the dynamics of the challenges she faced personally and how they connected to the causes she was in personally."
Ammiano said Ms. Collins "was definitely a San Franciscan, in every sense of the word."
Born Sept. 24, 1958, in Memphis, Ms. Collins moved to San Francisco in 1988. She became a committed activist in 2002 with development issues at the Plaza Hotel on Sixth Street, where she lived at the time.
A few years later she transitioned from male to female and worked with a wide range of community groups, along with new volunteer work in the transgender community. She was a volunteer and organizer for Senior and Disability Action and vice chair of San Francisco's LGBT Aging Policy Taskforce at the time of her death.
She also served the past five years on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Trans March, which is part of the Gay Pride Month celebrations.
Gabriel Haaland, a friend and fellow transgender activist, said that Ms. Collins' activism blossomed as she transitioned from male to female.
"The metaphor of a butterfly is apt," Haaland said. "She really emerged to become a really beautiful person who was much happier with herself, much happier with her life. (She) just really opened up in a beautiful way."
Ms. Collins is survived by her mother, Mary Mackey, four sisters and four brothers. Plans for a memorial service are pending.
Wyatt Buchanan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewyatt
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