March 29, 1908 or 1916 – September 2, 1981
A native of Chicago, Samuel Fouche performed in the 1930s as Peggy Joyce at nightclubs in New York and became famous as the “Sepia Mae West.” By the early 1940s, he was living in Detroit and working as a waiter. In later life, Fouche found employment as a steward on an ocean liner, a job that took him to such ports of call as Columbia, France, Spain, Panama, and Venezuela.
Tampa Tribune, September 5, 1981
October 15, 1916 – October 2, 2010
Chester James “Chet” Sampson of Los Angeles was born in Hubbell and attended Michigan Tech before transferring to the University of Michigan. During World War II he produced variety shows in the U.S. Navy. He later taught high school in Grosse Pointe before opening his own travel agency. In 1965, he founded ONE in Detroit, only the second formal homosexual organization in Michigan.
Grosse Pointe News, November 4, 2010
April 16, 1916 – February 17, 1991
Kalamazoo resident Floyd James “Jim” Spikings was born in Lawton, worked for the railroad in Chicago, and served in the Army during World War II. He later worked as an assembler for the Kozy Coach Company in Kalamazoo and for many years was employed by Musselman’s apple orchards cooperative in Paw Paw. Spikings was also a correspondent with the homophile organization ONE.
Paw Paw Courier-Leader, February 22, 1991
October 21, 1916 – July 3, 2007
Born in Tawas City, Dorothy Hoogterp grew up in Grand Rapids, earned her nursing degree from St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing. She was a poet, feminist, an early supporter of Lesbian Connection and the Lansing Lesbian Center, and was considered the matriarch of the Grand Rapids lesbian community.
Lesbian Connection, September/October 2007
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 