July 24, 1944 – November 1, 2015
An eleven-year resident of Marquette, Judith Fern “Judy” Eisenberg worked as a waitress, an emergency medical technician, Dichtaphone operator, folk singer, and piano teacher. As a member of the Lake Superior Piano Workshop from 2004 to 2010, she performed at the Peter White Library and the Women’s Federated Clubhouse.
April 29, 1931 – October 29, 1990
A onetime executive assistant with the Joffrey Ballet, Christopher Flynn operated a private dance studio in Rochester in the early 1970s and introduced his student and future superstar Madonna to gay nightlife at Menjo’s. In 1977, Flynn served as a founding officer of the Michigan Organization for Human Rights. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.
April 24, 1947 – October 18, 2000
LeRoy Holmberg Jr., an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy and past Detroit Area Gay/Lesbian Council president, was long active in various local LGBTQ organizations.
September 20, 1937 – March 15, 1990
A retired school teacher, Larry Barnard founded the Greater Lansing Gay Men’s Chorus, was active with the Lansing Area AIDS Network, and served as an officer and volunteer in several capacities for the Lansing Association for Human Rights and the Michigan Organization for Human Rights.
October 3, 1928 – December 22, 2011
Born in Allegan, Henry Lewis Van Dyke Jr. served in the U.S. Army and earned a B.A. and M.A. at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he developed lifelong gay friendships. He later authored several novels and taught as a writer-in-residence at Kent State.
August 19, 1922 – May 18, 2016
Renowned art historian Marvin Eisenberg hosted discreet parties at the center of Ann Arbor’s gay social scene during the 1950s, a time when university and city officials frowned on any open homosexuality.
July 23, 1945 – May 7, 1987
Before moving to Houston in the late 1970s, Patrick McGee taught school by day and at night performed in various Detroit gay nightclubs as the drag sensation Trisha Trash. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
March 17, 1924 – June 11, 2010
Retired school teacher Jean Ross in 1981 founded the Lansing chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. She was also active in the Lansing Association for Human Rights and the Lansing Area AIDS Network.
May 11, 1955 – September 14, 2016
Larry Zimmerman worked as a real estate agent and was a founding member in 1980 of the Motor City Business Forum. He later served as dean at Macomb Community College. Zimmerman was survived by his partner of 37 years, husband Stuart Itzkowitz.
April 7, 1931 – February 26, 2010
Ron Worsley taught theater at Wayne State University and Henry Ford Community College. He also produced salacious musicals for the annual “Do a Fool” weekend held by the leather group Tribe.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 