November 16, 1953 – November 16, 2004
Michael Sweazey of Canton and formerly of Garden City began bartending at Gigi’s in Detroit in the mid-1970s and was one of six employees to inherit ownership of the bar after the death of Tony Garneau. For many years he worked as Gigi’s show director and performed female impersonation under the name Vanessa LaSalle. Sweazey was survived by his life partner of 28 years Steven McAfee.
February 2, 1936 – January 24, 2015
Patricia Margaret Wootton worked in health care at Zieger Osteopathic Hospital in Detroit. In retirement, she participated in the Western Wayne County Senior Olympics, medaling in golf. Wootton and her life partner Patricia Fair shared a home together in Garden City.
January 25, 1921 – December 26, 1997
Actor and artist, Clifford Reynolds Jr. grew up in Highland Park and attended what was then called Wayne University in Detroit. He married in 1945, moved with his wife to California in 1952, and they divorced in 1968. A radio and television performer, Reynolds was survived by companion Lorne Gay.
March 22, 1949 – July 25, 1989
Born in Detroit, Joseph Daniel Maldonado grew up in Saginaw and moved back to Detroit following high school. Through much of the 1970s he performed as Dani DiLetto at such clubs at Morey’s, the Iron Hinge, and Bookie’s Club 870. DiLetto was awarded the title of Miss Gay America in 1976 when the original winner had the crown rescinded. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 40.
Saginaw News, July 27, 1989
January 6, 1925 – May 17. 2018
Born in New York, Pearl Berlin earned her Ph.D. from Penn State and from 1959 to 1971 was professor of health and physical education at Wayne State University. She then took a faculty position at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She and her life partner Ellen Gerber were plaintiffs in a court challenge of North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage. The couple legally wed in 2013.
March 2, 1953 – June 7, 2006
Detroit native and Center Line resident Jamie Marie Phillips-Fox was a pioneering transgender volunteer and activist in South East Michigan. With her future wife Michelle Fox-Phillips, she founded what was then known as Transgender Detroit. Phillips-Fox was also involved in Crossroads, Transgender Michigan, Affirmations, and PFLAG Detroit.
September 12, 1945 – May 24, 2008
A Detroit native and a 1964 graduate of Livonia Bentley High School, Nancy Fitzgerald earned her Associate’s degree from Lansing Community College and her B.S. from Spring Arbor College in 1998. She worked as an LPN and held a number of management positions in health care and insurance. An avid motorcyclist, Fitzgerald and her partner Lisa Whitehead shared a home in Eaton Rapids.
Lesbian Connection, September/October 2008
January 26, 1952 – May 23, 1993
Royal Oak resident Russell Bowman Jr. was born in Detroit and grew up in Grosse Pointe, where he graduated from Grosse Pointe High School. Bowman had a long career as an interior decorator and for many years was active in the local leather community, holding the title of Mr. Michigan Leather for 1988-89. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
August 7, 1952 – January 12, 2012
Detroiter Leon Smith attended Murray-Smith High School and became active in the local LGBT community in the 1980s. He helped launch the Men of Color Motivational Group, was one of the original organizers of the Hotter Than July pride celebration, and took part in a support group for HIV+ men sponsored by what was then known as Kick!.
December 1, 1960 – December 4, 1994
Detroit native Roger Alan McKinney graduated from Fraser High School in 1979. McKinney bartended at the Back Pocket and the CCW in the early 1980s before moving to South Haven, where he worked as a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 34.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 