March 9, 1947 – March 31, 1987
Allen Robinson grew up in Port Huron and served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. Robinson moved to Detroit in his early 20s, lived for a time in San Francisco, and in the early 1980s returned to Michigan, where he worked at Tiffany’s and the Interchange, and at Metra magazine as managing editor. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 40.
August 14, 1958 – September 28, 2015
Hillsdale native Donna Darlene Haskell graduated from Waldron High School and worked for 36 years with Universal Industrial Products. She enjoyed country music, traveling by RV, relaxing at the beach, and spending time with friends over cold beverages. Haskell shared a home in Camden with her partner Donna Wannemacher.
August 28, 1945 – October 17, 2014
Marvil Thomas Shaw III was born in Battle Creek, grew up in Coldwater, and attended Alma College. A celibate gay monk ordained into the priesthood in 1971, Shaw became Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in 1995. Throughout his tenure, he advocated for minority rights, for allowing women, gay men, and lesbians to be ordained, and for other causes of social justice.
July 10, 1926 – June 22, 2010
Margaret Lorick of Flint was employed as a cafeteria worker, a machine operator, and an office secretary before earning her degree to become a teacher. Lorick described attending gay house parties hosted by Ruth Ellis in Detroit during the 1950s for an essay in the collection Inventing Lesbian Cultures in America.
October 4, 1942 – September 26, 1987
Dean of the Wayne State University College of Lifelong Learning, Lawrence Murphy served as an institute director at Central Michigan University prior to moving to WSU. He was the author of the book Perverts by Official Order and was survived by his partner of 13 years Russell Len Griffin.
Detroit News, September 28, 1987
November 11, 1971 – April 19, 2017
A member of the Muskegon High School class of 1990, Deborah “Dee” Plamondon later worked at Walmart and Meijer stores. She was self-employed in the culinary field with the dream of operating her own food truck. She loved fishing, thunderstorms, and Tupac Shakur.
October 1, 1976 – April 3, 2012
Coko Williams, a 35-year-old transgender woman who sometimes worked as a hairstylist, was found shot to death in Detroit’s Palmer Park neighborhood. After Fox 2 Detroit identified her as a “male prostitute” in its report of the crime, activists launched a protest against the station for being transphobic. There was also no evidence that Williams engaged in sex work.
March 23, 1975 – March 28, 2012
Detroiter Dimitrez Griffin was active in such groups as the Horizon Project, Mpowerment Detroit, and the Black Male Xchange. As an HIV+ man, he advocated on behalf of other men who had sex with men. Griffin was found murdered in his apartment at age 37.
June 19, 1956 – November 15, 2009
Susan Rae Crispin of Clancy, Montana was born in the village of Sparta and earned degrees in biology from Michigan State University. She spent her career with the Nature Conservancy, moving from botanist to director of its Great Lakes Program, dedicated to conserving biodiversity. Crispin was survived by her Randi Levin.
Lesbian Connection, March/April 2010
January 10, 1940 – May 12, 2015
Valedictorian of the Class of 1958 at Hudson High School, Judith “Judy” Cole attended Sienna Heights College and was later employed in shipping and receiving for an office supply firm. She and her life partner Linda MacBeth shared a home in Adrian.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 