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.
January 29, 1936 – April 30, 2001
Wolfgang Friedrich Jung moved to the U.S. from his native Germany in 1960 and operated his own automotive repair business, the Beetle Shop in Royal Oak, specializing in Volkswagens. He met his life partner David Hummel at Detroit’s Woodward Bar in 1969 and five years later they moved together to Traverse City where Jung opened Wolfgang’s Foreign Car Service.
Traverse City Record-Eagle, May 3, 2001
March 15, 1947 – September 1, 2016
Marceline Elaine Lewis grew up in Flint, graduated from Flint Central High School, and attended Mott Community College. She was later employed with the marketing consulting firm TGI Direct and for a time owned and operated a cleaning business. A month before her passing, Lewis married her partner of 19 years Edith Pauline Foote.
February 20, 1989 – November 19, 2022
LGBTQ community artist, activist, and icon Marissa “Rizza” Marie Benton attended Haslett High School, where as a senior they won a portfolio award for their art. They were later stylist at and operator of the Roots Hair Lounge salon at Wild Ferns Wellness in Lansing. Benton also served on the board of the Salus Center. They were survived by their son Oliver and by five days by their partner Sydney Eckhoff.
November 11, 1946 – April 28, 2009
Thomas Stephen Zimmerman was born in Chicago and grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He attended seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio and earned his B.S. at the University of Toledo before moving to Bay City in 1985. Together with his life partner Gary Fogelsonger, Zimmerman operated a mortuary vault company and a pet crematory. He was also CEO of Sunset Valley Crematory.
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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 15, 2947 – March 17, 2005
Kenneth John Arnold was born in Detroit and graduated in 1965 from Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park. He later moved to Bay City and in the early 1970s, he became proprietor of Chalet Interiors in Saginaw. Often known by his drag name Bambi, Arnold took over Tallulah’s Show Bar in the 1990s and rechristened it Bambi’s Bottoms Up.
Saginaw News, March 19, 2005
June 20, 1961 – November 3, 1989
Thomas Edward Turner, lifelong resident of Ann Arbor, was a 1979 graduate of Huron High School. He went on to own and operate Parkway Printing Company. During his two-year battle with illness, Turner became active with Friends/Huron Valley. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 28.
May 10, 1929 – December 15, 1986
Wilfred Zinow Thompson was born in Hamtramck, went to Pershing High School in Detroit, attended the University of Michigan in the early 1950s, and earned his B.A. in liberal arts from Wayne State University in 1958. For a time, Thompson was affiliated with writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten and was an antiques dealer by trade. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.
Detroit Free Press, May 10, 1987
December 5, 1949 – October 27, 2004
Born in Mount Clemens, Terrance Jacob “Terry” Romatz of Fraser graduated with the class of 1968 from Fraser High School. He later worked at Sears and was self-employed cleaning houses. Romatz was also a longtime Metra magazine employee who organized the Metra Picnic and delivered the publication at bar throughout Metro Detroit. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 54.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 