July 3, 1923 – August 31, 2020
Mt. Pleasant resident Jean Roberts grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and attended Western Michigan University, where she played tuba in the symphony. She went on to teach physical education in Kalamazoo and at Comstock High School and later worked as a counselor in the Reed City schools. For 15 years, Roberts and her life partner Janet Bush operated J & J Leather.
February 3, 1962 – January 7, 2019
Barbara Faye Gessell was born in and spent much of her life in Ohio and held a J.D. and Bachelor’s in business administration. Her long career in human resources included managerial positions at Mercy Health Network, Toledo Edison, and the Toledo Blade. After she was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, Gessell retired to Saugatuck with her wife Jennifer Roe.
May 10, 1965 – March 4, 2020
A noted figure in Detroit’s electronic music scene, James Joseph Stone Jr. was born in Royal Oak and graduated from Seaholm High School in Birmingham in 1984. He attended Eastern Michigan University and came out as a young gay man on the dance floors of Todd’s and Heaven. A musician and DJ, Stone became an important distributor and promoter of house and techno throughout the metro area.
November 13, 1963 – May 27, 1996
Born in Howell, Grosse Pointe Farms resident Sara Maria Briden grew up in Grosse Pointe and graduated with the class of 1981 from South High School. She later attended the Ford School of Nursing and the University of Michigan before becoming a beauty consultant and operating her own business. An active runner and swimmer, Breden was also a supporter of Affirmations Community Center.
Grosse Pointe News, May 30, 1996
September 30, 1965 – May 27, 2003
Detroit native and Pershing High grad Brent O’Neal Lewis earned his B.A. from Wayne State University. He was an early participant in Men of Color and volunteered on the promotions committee for Hotter Than July. Lewis also helped launch HIV meal outreach through Full Truth Fellowship Church and visited hospitalized PWAs through the group Oliver Branch. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 37.
July 9. 1979 – March 16, 2018
Tangela Moore-Powers graduated with the class of 1999 from Muskegon Heights High School and studied photography at Spring Arbor University. In the mid-2000s she moved to Mesa, Arizona, where she attended the Arizona School of Massage Therapy and worked as a stocker for Walmart. She and Sharon Powers met in 2006 and were married in September 2015.
November 5, 1961 – October 22, 1994
Lifelong Lansing resident Paul Darwin Morgan, better known as Darwin, graduated from Hill High School in 1979, then attended Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. Morgan later worked as a mental health counselor and performed as an actor with the Riverwalk Theatre, the Lansing Civic Players, and Spotlight Theatre. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 32.
Lansing State Journal, October 25, 1994
April 15, 1928 – September 30, 2014
Born in Highland Park, Caryl Pauline Freeman grew up in Sturgis and graduated with the class of 1946 from Sturgis High School. She earned her B.A. at Michigan State, her M.A. from Harvard, and her doctorate at New York University. She later joined the faculty of the Western Michigan University College of Business, retiring in 1987. Freeman was survived by her partner Marcia Mascolini of Portage.
January 23, 1947 – July 20, 2020
Marie Anne Hansen was born in Mt. Pleasant and earned her Bachelor’s in human ecology at Michigan State University. She later got her Masters and had a long career in student affairs in Colorado, Nebraska, and at MSU. She was a beloved part the Lansing area lesbian community and was longtime coordinator of the local women and arts festival. Hansen was survived by her wife Priscilla Feigenbaum.
December 10, 1966 – May 30, 1998
Flint resident Shannon Daniel Holihan attended Grand Blanc High School, was employed as a computer programmer for the Kmart corporation in Troy, and cared for his mother. Holihan was murdered at age 31 after leaving the parking lot of the State Bar, his body found bludgeoned in the head behind a nearby restaurant.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 