October 9, 1942 – May 12, 1988
Ernest Michael Crawford worked as a bartender at the Woodward Lounge in Detroit before becoming longtime co-owner in 1974 of Menjo’s. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 45.
Author: michiganlgbtqremember
Sal Connor
August 17, 1923 – June 20, 1988
Lenora “Sally” Connor, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and later worked as a postal worker in Grand Rapids. She was a founding officer in 1977 of the Michigan Organization for Human Rights.
Paula Ettelbrick
October 2, 1955 – October 7, 2011
Legal director for the Lambda Legal Defense from 1988 to 1993 and longtime activist, Paula Ettelbrick earned her law degree from Wayne State University and served as an officer for the Michigan Organization for Human Rights in the mid-1980s.
New York Times, October 8, 2011
Gay People’s Chronicle, October 21, 2011
Paula L. Ettelbrick papers in the Human Sexuality Collection
Betty Leonard
March 23, 1924 – August 19, 2014
Betty Leonard worked as manager of the State Bar in Flint from the late 1950s to the early 1980s.
Dennis Ashby
April 15, 1948 – September 18, 2010
Longtime Utica resident Dennis Ashby worked as a waiter and bartender at various Detroit bars from 1968 until his death in 2010, including Eddy’s, Morey’s, the Adobe, Todd’s, and the Gold Coast.
Michael Uso Guevara
September 29, 1925 – April 9, 1977
Michael Uso Guevara, a 52-year-old personnel director for Standard Products in Dearborn and Detroit resident, was murdered after leaving the Mt. Chalet Lounge.
Ruth Ellis
July 23, 1899 – October 12, 2000
Elder and matriarch Ruth Ellis hosted house parties with her partner Babe Franklin in their Oakland Street home during the 1940s and ’50s, giving sanctuary to LGBTQ African American Detroiters who were often excluded from the city’s gay bars.
Between The Lines, October 12, 2000
Sue Brown
October 1, 1959 – April 14, 2014
Massage therapist, self-taught drummer, and former criminal justice worker Sue Brown in 1996 helped to found the Grand Rapids Women’s Chorus.
Lesbian Connection, July/August 2014
W. Dorr Legg
December 15, 1904 – July 26, 1994
Ann Arbor native W. Dorr Legg moved to Los Angeles in 1949 with his boyfriend following their arrest in Detroit on a charge of gross indecency between men. In Los Angeles in 1953, he helped found ONE magazine, the first homosexual publication to reach wide circulation in the U.S.
Joyce Kershner
May 22, 1941 – February 24, 2011
Joyce Kershner was a board member of the Performers Awards of Detroit, manager of the Palmwood, resident of the Palmer Park apartment district, and longtime staff poet for Metra magazine.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 