February 16, 1946 – June 9, 1990
Valedictorian of his class at Sacred Heart High School in Dearborn, Lawrence Gilbert “Larry” Glover earned his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Michigan. As a founding member of the Ann Arbor Gay Liberation Front, he was interviewed by the Ann Arbor Argus just two months after the group formed in March 1970. Glover later moved to San Francisco. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 44.
November 28, 1958 – June 12, 2007
Born in Kalamazoo, Cathy Marie Bryant attended Parchment High School and went on to study electrical engineering and graphic arts at Western Michigan University. Bryant and her beloved partner Emily Blanchard met in 1990 and subsequently moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.
August 22, 1995 – December 11, 2021
Former Plymouth resident Suraj Mathew Mahadeva studied neuroscience and dance at Michigan State University, where he decried cultural appropriation. After earning his Bachelor’s in 2018, he moved to Chicago and became a medical clinician. Active in Asian and LGBTQ communities, Mahadeva was shot and killed on the porch of a friend’s home by an unknown assailant.
October 18, 1963 – July 9, 1989
Jeffrey Dee Whitmyer graduated from Okemos High School in 1982. He attended Lake Superior State University for a year before moving to Dallas, Texas, returning to Michigan in 1989. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 25.
Lansing State Journal, July 11, 1989
August 7, 1964 – May 27, 1991
Jamaican-born Duane Ivanhoe Richards graduated from Lansing Everett High School, attended the University of Michigan. and went on to work as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. He shared a home in Detroit and later Atlanta with Brent Dorian Carpenter, his life partner of more than four years, who was at his side when Richards passed away. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 26.
Lansing State Journal, May 31, 1991
November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019
Grammy-winning songwriter Alta Sharral “Allee” Willis was born in Detroit and graduated in 1965 from Mumford High School. Following college in Wisconsin, Willis moved to New York, where she launched her music career. Her credits include songs for Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Pointer Sisters, Bonnie Rait, and the theme for the sitcom Friends. Willis was survived by her partner of 27 years Prudence Fenton.
September 28, 1956 – June 1, 2017
Monroe native James Asher graduated from Monroe High School in 1974 and went on to undergraduate studies at The Ohio State University and graduate studies at California State. Prior to moving to California, he played professional tennis through racquet clubs in Bloomfield Hills and Rochester Hills. In later years he coached and taught high school English. He was survived by his partner Brent Sweer.
December 9, 1946 – October 21, 2020
Born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised by his mother in Detroit, Frederick Weston attended the High School of Commerce and went on to earn his Bachelor’s from Ferris State. In his 20s, he moved to New York, where he worked low-paying jobs while relishing the gay scene and creating an array of visual arts. A long-term survivor of AIDS, Weston gained recognition for his artistic genius only late in life.
April 22, 1948 – December 18, 1978
Muskegon native Gregory Don Williams graduated with the class of 1966 from Muskegon Catholic High School and subsequently attended Michigan State University and Wayne State University. In June 1972, he took part in Michigan’s first-ever pride celebration in Detroit. At the time of his death, he was employed with a Wall Street brokerage firm in New York.
Muskegon Chronicle, December 20, 1978
Erin Nicole Oyster was born in Cadillac and graduated from Reed City High School in 1997. She attended Western Michigan University, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and where she earned her Bachelor’s in education in 2002. After college Oyster taught high school English in Arizona. She was survived by her life partner Heather Schonfeld.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 