December 13, 1931 – July 1, 2021
Born in Saginaw, Joyce Elaine Hillert graduated with the class of 1950 from Saginaw High School and went on to attend Western Michigan University and Michigan State University. Her work life included serving mentally challenged people, a stint as a secretary, and owning and operating the Waterford Resale Shop. Hillert was preceded in death by her companion and life partner Clarice Jeffries.
November 12, 1978 – May 9, 2021
Bay City resident Brandon Socia was born in Saginaw and attended Bay City Central High School. After working on the family potato farm growing up, he went on to cook at a number of local restaurants. Socia was survived by his partner Jordan Ward.
April 15, 1951 – February 3, 2021
Gregory Charles Piazza moved to Detroit from Wisconsin to attend Wayne State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s in speech. He soon became enmeshed in local gay culture and in 1974 moved into the Palmer Park apartment district. His research was instrumental in having the neighborhood added to the National Register of Historic Places. Piazza was also long active in the leather club Tribe.
August 22, 1995 – December 11, 2021
Former Plymouth resident Suraj Mathew Mahadeva studied neuroscience and dance at Michigan State University, where he decried cultural appropriation. After earning his Bachelor’s in 2018, he moved to Chicago and became a medical clinician. Active in Asian and LGBTQ communities, Mahadeva was shot and killed on the porch of a friend’s home by an unknown assailant.
October 1, 1956 – July 2, 2021
Born in Flint, Denis Christopher-Ryan graduated from Southwestern High School in 1974. He held retail and bank jobs before working at Genesee County Mental Health, where he retired after 20 years of service. In the mid-1990s, he served as a DJ at the short-lived gay nightclub Studio 910. Christopher-Ryan moved to Las Vegas in 2001 and held a second career in the hospitality industry.
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January 24, 1943 – April 8, 2021
Stanwood resident Elizabeth “Betty” Long was born in Kalamazoo and graduated with the class of 1962 from Comstock High School. She went on to work for Upjohn’s pharmaceuticals and later operated the Nature’s Treasures flower shop in the town of Evart in Osceola County. Long was survived by Shirley Moore, her partner of more than 11 years.
August 4, 1977 – December 3, 2021
Jamie Louise Bissell grew up and attended college in Indiana. After earning her J.D. at Valparaiso University in 2005, she moved to Michigan where she first lived in Trenton and worked in law firms. She later moved to Livonia and took a job with the Wayne County Friend of the Court. She also served as president of her union local. Bissell was survived by two children and her wife Molly Pastori-Bissell.
Erin Nicole Oyster was born in Cadillac and graduated from Reed City High School in 1997. She attended Western Michigan University, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and where she earned her Bachelor’s in education in 2002. After college Oyster taught high school English in Arizona. She was survived by her life partner Heather Schonfeld.
September 15, 1964 – August 3, 2021
Kelli Maria Hand, known professionally as K-Hand, grew up in Detroit where she attended Henry Ford High School. In the 1980s, she discovered the dance scene at the Paradise Garage nightclub in New York and became hooked on the music. Before long she landed gigs as a DJ, including at the Detroit gay venue Zipper’s, and came to achieve international acclaim as the “first lady of Detroit techno.”
Between The Lines [online only], August 5, 2021
April 6, 1949 – September 28, 2021
Lansing resident Ilona Rae Sabo-Shuler was born in Grand Rapids, graduated from South High School, attended Calvin College, and later studied at Garrett Theological Seminary in Illinois. After serving as pastor of Williamston United Methodist Church from 1982 to 1994, she became a real estate agent in East Lansing. Sabo-Schuler was preceded in death in 2020 by her partner of 42 years Jean Fillingham.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 