March 27, 1938 – September 21, 1994
Native Detroiter William John Thompson served in the Army, earned a Master’s from Wayne State, taught public school, and worked in advertising. He was active in multiple organizations, including ASP, MOHR, Dignity, BWMT, and MAPP. Thompson was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Detroit area Pride Banquet in 1993. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 56.
March 13, 1931 – April 20, 2015
Marvin Phillip Marks of Southfield started his own accounting firm in the early 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, he held leadership positions in numerous local gay organizations, including Dignity/Detroit, the Motor City Business Forum, the Detroit Area Gay/Lesbian Council, the Forum Foundation, and Wellness Networks. Marks received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Pride Banquet in 2009.
August 23, 1966 – December 18, 1993
Born in Detroit, Carl Vinson Andrews came out at age 13 and later worked in financial services for the State of Michigan and was active in the state employee labor union. He served as secretary of Dignity-Integrity/Flint in the late 1980s and was involved the James Baldwin/Pat Parker Society in the early 1990s. In 1991, Andrews was profiled in Outweek magazine.
No known obituary
April 28, 1949 – November 7, 1990
Michael Murray earned a Bachelor’s in theology at Loyola University of Chicago and oversaw religious education at two Catholic parishes and at the Michigan School for the Deaf in the mid-1970s. Murray was a founding member of Dignity/Flint and portrayed Jesus in productions of Godspell with the Flint Community Players in 1977 and 1984. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
Indianapolis Star, November 12, 1990
Flint Journal, December 11, 1990
January 28, 1925 – June 21, 2003
Hal Lawson, a graduate of Wayne State University, was founding chair from 1958 to 1960 of the Detroit Area Council of the Mattachine Society, the first known organization for homosexuals in Michigan. He was later involved in ONE in Detroit, the Association of Suburban People, the Michigan Organization for Human Rights, the Unitarian-Universalist Gay Caucus, and Dignity/Flint.
March 13, 1947 – November 11, 1996
A Chicago native, Carol Srbeny moved to Interlochen when she was 25, earned a second Bachelor’s degree, and worked as a self-employed counselor. An animal lover and wildlife enthusiast, she was active in the Grand Traverse area chapter of Dignity and Friends North.
Traverse City Record-Eagle, November 13, 1996
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 