Florence Fisher, an adoptee who spend decades searching for her birth parents and then spent another half century fighting to open adoption records for millions of others, died on Oct. 1 in Brooklyn. She was 95.

Although she ultimately found her birth parents, the difficulties she dealt with — sealed records, silent families — made her think about what millions of other adoptees had faced.

“The impact that Florence had on the adoptee-rights movement cannot be overestimated,” said Lorraine Dusky, another advocate. “Florence came along at the right moment. With diligence, she achieved success state by state.”