October 12, 1961 – March 8, 1995
Native Detroiter Gary Patterson graduated from Cass Tech High School in 1979 and earned his B.A. in psychology from Kalamazoo College in 1984. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gabon, Africa, Patterson worked as a counselor and educator for AIDS Care Connection and pursued a degree from Unity Union Ministerial School of Detroit. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 33.
May 13, 1947 – February 8, 1993
Detroit native and onetime seminary student James Earl Proffitt was an out real estate agent and for sixteen years was organist for Zion Lutheran Church in Ferndale. In the 1980s, he served as an officer of the Detroit Area Gay/Lesbian Council and later worked for AIDS Care Connection. Proffitt fathered a daughter with lesbian friend J. Charlene Genther. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 45.
Detroit Free Press, February 10, 1993
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 