January 5, 1940 – June 16, 2013
Donna Pomerance, a homeowner with her life companion Bonnie Friend in Lakeside for two decades, was born in Chicago. She and Friend operated the advertising firm DP Productions for 33 years, one of Chicago’s first women-owned businesses. Pomerance was later a co-owner of Augie’s Booze & Schmooze and a strong contributor to the LGBT community.
January 23, 1993 – June 28, 2013
A native of the state of Wyoming, Krisen Grace Lison of Charlotte graduated from Manchester High School in Manchester in 2011. She went on to attend Michigan State University, where she was involved with the campus LGBT community. Lison was studying writing and authored three books of poetry and short stories. Her fiancé Dalton Strong was among her survivors.
August 24, 1942 – September 30, 2013
Linda Ann Reuther, the daughter of UAW founder Walter P. Reuther, grew up in Detroit and Rochester and earned her Bachelor’s in education from the University of Michigan in 1965. She taught head start for several years, operated a quilt store in Marin County, California, and later created a meditation retreat center to the north in Albion. Reuther was survived by her life companion Michele Tellier.
July 22, 1957 – April 17, 2013
Paul Edward Steczek of Royal Oak grew up in Detroit and was on the staff of the Backstage in the 1980s. He later worked as manager for 24 Hour Video and then operated Blue Moon Video for 11 years. Steczek was preceded in death by his partner Richard Shank in 1992 and survived by Daniel Christine, with whom he was joined in a civil union in 1995.
March 8, 1954 – March 27, 2013
Karen C_____ was born in Goodrich and grew up in Ortonville. She was later heterosexually married, raised two children, and for 13 years operated her own restaurant. At the time of her death at age 59, she resided in Spring Hill, Florida. She was survived by her partner Tammy.
Oakland Press, March 29, 2013
February 13, 1942 – March 31, 2013
Deloris Jean Riddlesprigger grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and studied osteopathic medicine at Michigan State University, earning her doctor degree in 1980. She specialized in anesthesiology and practiced in Metro Detroit for more than three decades. Riddlesprigger and her beloved partner Barbara White shared a home in Southfield for 28 years.
October 25, 1968 – August 7, 2013
Detroit native Sean Franklin Sasser graduated from Cass Technical High School and attended the University of Chicago for a year. He gained national celebrity a few years later as the HIV-positive AIDS educator boyfriend of Pedro Zamora on MTV’s The Real World in San Francisco. Sasser went on to become a pastry chef and was survived by husband and longtime partner Michael Kaplan.
October 22, 1987 – January 10, 2013
Ciara La’Shae White was musically inclined at a young age, playing clarinet and bass clarinet in the concert and marching bands at Ruddiman Middle School in Detroit and taking part in the marching band, as well as junior ROTC, at Mackenzie High School. She was a beloved member of the LGBT community and the Ruth Ellis Center.
August 14, 1966 – February 18, 2013
Former Muskegon resident Lynnette Mick was born in Fremont and worked for Fasco Industries for 23 years before moving to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An animal rights activist, she was survived by her daughter and by her life partner Diane Banach.
August 26, 1928 – April 12, 2013
Born in Escanaba, William James Hirn earned his Bachelor’s from Western Michigan University and did his graduate studies at the University of Michigan. After teaching in Muskegon and Ann Arbor, he moved to New York State, where he was on the early faculty of Rockland Community College. Hirn and his life partner of 48 years Joseph Rogers retired to Spain and later lived in Houston and Las Vegas.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 