November 4, 1966 – September 11, 1997
A Lansing native Juan Hernandez graduated with the class of 1984 from Eastern High School. Hernandez became involved with the Lansing Area AIDS Network in the 1990s. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 30.
Lansing State Journal, September 14, 1997
October 26, 1966 – December 21, 2007
Born in Los Angeles, Kurt Andrew Tamm went to Bentley High School in Livonia. He later tended bar at Backstreet in Detroit and Cobalt in Ferndale. In his last years, Tamm made a home in Puerto Rico. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
August 4, 1966 – February 24, 2020
Michael Hugh Guigar was born in Marlette and earned his B.S. in computer science at Saginaw Valley State University. He later resided in Ferndale, Royal Oak, and Hazel Park and became active with the Detroit Together Men’s Chorus for many years. Guigar was employed by 7-Eleven and attended the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. His partner Brent Toner survived him.
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.
February 20, 1966 – July 19, 2000
Stephen Gendin was a teenage member of Mensa and valedictorian of the Ypsilanti High School class of 1984. While studying at Brown University, he learned he had HIV. Gerdin went on to become a leading activist in ACT UP/New York, a columnist for POZ magazine, and the founder of Community Prescription Service, a mail-order pharmacy distributor. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 34.
January 12, 1966 – October 25, 2019
Tara Louise Kelley was born in Flint, graduated from Bentley High School in Burton, and served six years in the U.S. Navy. She later earned her Bachelor’s at the University of Michigan-Flint, served in the National Guard, and for 19 years worked as a corrections officer with the State of Michigan. Kelley and her longtime partner Angelina Winn were found dead in their Kingsley home in a tragic murder-suicide.
December 22, 1966 – January 25, 2003
Southfield activist, performance artist, and poet Oddis was born in Detroit as Otis Mitchell and regularly showcased his work at 1515 Broadway. In 1998, he took part in the group Detroit Noir as it won first-place in the DC Black Pride poetry slam. Oddis also worked as a professional model, worked as a promoter for Club One X, and participated in Detroit Black Gay Pride and Karibu House.
August 23, 1966 – December 18, 1993
Born in Detroit, Carl Vinson Andrews came out at age 13 and later worked in financial services for the State of Michigan and was active in the state employee labor union. He served as secretary of Dignity-Integrity/Flint in the late 1980s and was involved the James Baldwin/Pat Parker Society in the early 1990s. In 1991, Andrews was profiled in Outweek magazine.
No known obituary
June 2, 1966 – February 21, 2019
Lisa Maria Rodriguez Ortiz was born in Chicago and as a teenager moved to Michigan, where she graduated from Okemos High School and attended the University of Michigan and Boston College. For 26 years she taught Spanish at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Ortiz resided in Ypsilanti with her daughters and wife Julia Marvin.
June 19, 1966 – September 17, 2001
Jackson resident Michelle Marie “Mitch” Hughson was born in Lansing and graduated with the class of 1985 from Charlotte High School. For 12 years, Hughson worked as a radiologist technician at Hayes Green Beach Hospital in Charlotte.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 