October 18, 1957 – May 21, 1996
Gregory Thomas Hainbecker was born in Wyandotte and resided in Ecorse all his life, graduating in 1976 from Ecorse High School. He was employed as a truck driver, roofer, carpenter, and handyman. Hainbecker also worked as a longtime bartender at Gigi’s in Detroit. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 38.
November 27, 1953 – January 13, 1993
James Ernest Moyski was born in Detroit, graduated in 1971 from Walled Lake Western High School, and earned his B.S. from Eastern Michigan University. He worked as a licensed cosmetologist, was active in theater and dance, and resided in Ferndale with his lover William Markel. Moyski also performed for 8 years with the Detroit Together Men’s Chorus. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 39.
October 9, 1990 – September 3, 2018
Born in Detroit, Melissa Silvia Zicarelli of Lansing earned her B.S. in Spanish and linguistics and her M.A. in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Central Michigan University. She later worked as director of preschool enrichment at Okemos Public Montessori. In November 2017, Zicarelli was united in marriage with Katherine VanArdsall.
September 29, 1957 – January 8, 1994
Detroit native Jeffrey Louis Schoch graduated with the class of 1975 from Henry Ford High School and later attended Tri-State University in Indiana. Schoch moved to Texas in 1980 and worked as a seller for a meat broker in San Antonio before returning to Michigan to live with his mother in the last months of his life. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 36.
Detroit Free Press, January 14, 1994
March 23, 1960 – March 8, 2020
Longtime African American LGBTQ activist and Chicago resident Marcus Zohntell Loveless graduated from Redford High School in 1978 and earned his Bachelor’s from Wayne State University. In 1988, he helped form the Michigan Lesbian/Gay Democratic Caucus. Loveless was later an instrumental force with the Detroit Area Gay/Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and active in the founding of Affirmations.
January 9, 1956 – March 1, 2003
Detroit native Veronica Perryman Mitchell attended Mumford High School. In a 1995 Detroit Free Press feature, she revealed how HIV helped her turn from a life of addiction. Among her achievements, Mitchell served as AIDS ombudsperson for the City of Detroit, began a women with AIDS support group in C-HAG, and sat on the board of Men of Color. She died from AIDS-related complications at age 47.
Detroit Free Press, March 6, 2003
May 29, 1944 – April 6, 2005
Martha Charles of Lathrup Village was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana and as a toddle moved to Detroit, where she graduated with the class of 1962 from Cass Tech High School. After earning her B.A. from Western Michigan University, she taught middle and high school in St. Clair Shores. Charles was active in Women Together and co-founded the group Lesbian-A-Sisters. Her partner Sue Brooks survived her.
August 2, 1964 – February 11, 2000
Syracuse, New York native Donald Schroeder attended college in Pennsylvania before moving to Michigan to write for Car & Driver magazine. He was active in the Lambda Car Club and also served as vice president of the AIDS fundraising organization Geared 4 Life. Schroeder and his life partner of seven years Michael Vaughn shared a home in Detroit’s historic Boston-Edison neighborhood.
June 20, 1935 – November 17, 2018
Born in Detroit, Frances Suzanne Moore moved to California at age 22, served as a journalist in the U.S. Navy, and worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab of California Tech. As an activist in San Diego, she cared for patients with AIDS and served as chair of the local Gay Academic Union. Moore was preceded in death by her wife and partner of 27 years Charlynn Johnson.
September 24, 1965 – May 23, 1992
Robert Edward Lee Penick III graduated with the class of 1983 from Cass Tech High School in Detroit. He came out in the early 1980s on the dance floors of such gay nightclubs as Todd’s, Bookie’s, and the Famous Door. At age 20, Penick moved to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 28.
No known obituary
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 