May 4, 1932 – October 19, 2012
In 1953 and 1954 Barbara Jean “Barb” Sowers played outfrield with Muskegon Belles and the Grand Rapids Chicks in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Born in Detroit, she grew up in Livonia and retired as a high school counselor with the Livonia schools, where she headed the teachers’ union in the mid-1970s. Sowers was preceded in death by Shirley Weaver, her companion of 45 years.
July 18, 1952 – July 17, 1993
Eastpointe resident William Daryl Townsend was founding president of Friends Alliance for people with HIV, served on the board of Wellness Networks, and co-founded the Detroit chapter of ACT UP. His appearance on WDIV’s Sonya Friedman Show was canceled in 1985 because the camera crew feared AIDS contagion. He died of AIDS-related complications at age 40.
March 19, 1954 – January 29, 2014
Longtime HIV and AIDS educator and advocate Kaye Lourena McDuffie served as communicable disease coordinator and intervention prevention specialist for the Lansing Area AIDS Network. Born in Ferndale, she graduated from Cass Tech in Detroit before attending Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. A devoted wife and mother, McDuffie was also active in local theater.
October 8, 1947 – May 16, 1994
Born in Detroit, Carl Rippberger graduated from Denby High School and served a tour of duty in Vietnam as a U.S. Army draftee. He bar tended at Tiffany’s before acquiring the Escape Lounge, which he opened as Backstreet nightclub in 1979. Rippberger served as president of the Detroit Bar Guild and helped raise funds for Wellness House and Affirmations. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 46.
Detroit Free Press, May 19, 1994
October 30, 1946 – February 22, 1976
Randall Douglas “Doug” Fox was born in Indiana, earned his Bachelor’s at Earlham College and his Master’s at the University of Michigan. Following grad school, he moved to Detroit and worked as an assistant manager at Woolworth’s. Fox’s body was found bludgeoned and shot in the head on the sidewalk in the Virginia Park neighborhood in what friends considered an anti-gay killing.
Detroit News, February 23, 1976
August 17, 1948 – October 12, 2008
Detroit and Redford resident Dennis Andrew Lamparski was bartender and manager at a number of Detroit gay establishments back to the early 1970s, including the Town Pump, the Voyager Room, the Unicorn, and the Gas Station. He also worked for many years at the annual Metra Picnic.
September 23, 1964 – June 18, 1999
Detroit resident James Richard Kirkwood Jr. was employed with a credit union. He learned he had HIV in 1989 and kept his status secret from his family for nine years out of shame and fear of rejection for his sexuality. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 34.
January 22, 1935 – November 5, 2017
Detroit native and Novi resident Robert Murphy served in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Chief Petty Officer from the Naval Reserves. A long active in the leather community under the name Mark Ensinger, he was a member of Detroit’s Studs 30 and the Chicago Hellfire Club. He was posthumously awarded the 2018 Chuck Renslow President’s Award by the Leather Archives and Museum.
June 11, 1936 – May 4, 2005
Known as the “Worm Woman,” Kalamazoo resident Mary Arlene Appelhof became a world-renowned expert on using earthworms for composting. She was born in Detroit, grew up in Alma, and attended high school in Ohio. She earned a B.S. and two Masters from Michigan State and taught in Kalamazoo and at Interlochen. Appelhof was survived by her partner of 27 years Mary Frances Fenton.
Kalamazoo Gazette, May 5, 2005
Between The Lines, May, 19, 2005
Lesbian Connection, September/October 2006
July 30, 1936 – October 5, 2006
Originally from Amherstburg, Ontario, Anna Mae Kiraly went to school in Windsor to become a Registered Nurse and was employed by Detroit Receiving Hospital as a critical care nurse for more than 40 years. Kiraly lived in and around Metro Detroit, including Warren, Farmington, and Sterling Heights. She was survived by Judith Cook, her partner of 24 years.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 