August 20, 1946 – January 1, 1990
Mark David Manhoff was born in Detroit, where he graduated from Mumford High School. He attended Eastern Michigan University and later worked as an accountant. In the late 1980s Manhoff and his life partner Burton Fogelman served on the board of the Motor City Business Forum. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 43.
Detroit Free Press, January 3, 1990
September 21, 1963 – March 22, 1994
Born in Pontiac, Scott Russell Sweeney of Bloomfield Hills earned his bachelor’s in communications from Michigan State University in 1985 and later pursued studies at the University of London in the UK. Sweeney enjoyed a rich career as a public affairs manager within the auto industry, overseeing the rollout of the Ford Mustang and the F150 Lightning. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 30.
Detroit Free Press, March 24, 1994
August 18, 1972 – December 19, 1994
Adrian Travelle Davis of Detroit performed at the Peach Bowl with his middle school band and later directed the Murray Wright High School band and the a cappella quartet Gifted. Davis graduated from Cody High School in 1994 with plans to attend Ferris State University. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 22.
Detroit Free Press, December 22, 1994
January 5, 1946 – February 27, 1991
Garden City native Robert Joel Crane graduated from Cody High School in Detroit and earned his B.A. in art education at Eastern Michigan University. He went on to teach at the elementary level in the Southfield Public Schools. Crane and his lover James Anderson shared a home in Livonia. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 45.
December 4, 1940 – July 6, 2020
A graduate of St. Mary’s Academy in Monroe, Sandra Lee Langeland earned her B.S. in physical education from Michigan State University in 1964. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Denver and taught psychology at the Oakland Community College Highland Lakes Campus for 29 years. Langeland and her life partner Susan Murdock shared homes un Union Lake before moving to Florida.
August 31, 1958 – April 20, 1999
Deborah Sue Powell of Adrian was born in Illinois, spent part of her childhood in Toledo, Ohio, and studied fisheries and wildlife at Kent State. She later served as a cook in the U.S. Air Force and was an assembly line worker at the Ford Automotive plant in Rawsonville. Powell was survived by former partners Deb Harkins and Cheryl Zupan.
February 15, 1939 – April 5. 1995
Grand Rapids native and Alpine Township resident Daniel Kenneth Brauer graduated from Ottawa Hillls High School in 1957 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1963. Brauer was pastor of the Muskegon Metropolitan Community Church from 1991 until his death from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty water heater in his home. He also served a vice chair of Muskegon Area AIDS Resource Services.
Muskegon Chronicle, April 7, 1995
Third Coast Magazine, May 1995
June 3, 1947 – March 9, 2005
Born in Detroit, Brian Joseph Killian earned his B.A. at Ferris State and MBA at Wayne State. He taught at Grosse Pointe North High School before switching careers and becoming a celebrated interior designer. Killian donated generously to the Triangle Foundation and served as co-chair of the 1993 Human Rights Campaign Michigan Dinner gala fundraiser. A fire in his Birmingham home took his life.
Detroit Free Press, March 11, 2005
December 20, 1972 – October 18, 2019
Born in Kalamazoo, Lisa Ilene Carlson graduated from Montague High School in Montague and attended Muskegon Community College. She trained as a paramedic at Great Lakes Academy in Allendale and had a 20-year career as an EMT and EMT trainer. She also enjoyed music and was a devoted fan of the Michigan Renaissance Festival. Carlson was survived by her partner Amanda Visger.
August 12, 1958 – July 25, 2016
Theresa Mary Guillean of Bloomfield Hills graduated with the Pontiac Catholic High School class of 1976. She went on to earn her B.S. in 1990 from Oakland University and devoted herself to social work. Guillean and her wife Lori Klein Shapiro were among more than 300 couples issued marriage licenses on March 22, 2014 after a federal judge overturned Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 