February 17, 1965 – May 17, 2010
Janine Denommé was born in Detroit and majored in religious studies at the University of Detroit Mercy. She later earned her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and served as director of youth programs at the Center on Halsted in Chicago. In April 2010, Denommé fulfilled a lifelong dream and was ordained by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests contrary to the Church’s ban on women priests.
September 17, 1962 – March 23, 2014
Kathryn Elizabeth Norris graduated from Charlotte High School, studied management science at the University of Maryland, served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 1987, and from 1988 to 2006 operated several Mancino’s outlets in Lansing. She later moved to Chicago, where she came to share her life with her partner Vivian Shelton.
August 7, 1947 – February 3, 2002
Originally from Waterford, Harry “Kitty” Kevorkian became involved in the Gay Liberation Front in Ann Arbor during in the early 1970s. He, took part in numerous protests, once crashing an event donned in skag drag at the home of the president of the University of Michigan. Kevorkian was a candidate for the city’s mayor in 1974 and later headed the bus union during a 42-day walkout.
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 DiLetto was awarded the title of Miss Gay America in 1976 when the original winner had the crown rescinded.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
February 19, 1936 – December 14, 2013
At age 15, after Flint native Marvin Burrows started dating his life partner Bill Swenor, his father kicked him out of the house. Swenor’s mother welcomed Burrows into their home. The couple moved to California in the mid-1960s. When then-Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized same-sex marriages in San Francisco in 2004, the couple was married at City Hall.
April 4, 1965 – March 14, 2014
Danny W. (D.J.) Boos Jr. grew up in Beaverton and graduated from the Beaverton Rural Schools in 1982. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps until 1989, he moved to Chicago where he worked in the hospitality industry. Long active in the Windy City LGBT community, Boos was named Mr. Chicago Leather in 1997.
April 7, 1984 – June 23, 2015
Birmingham native Jessie Makaila Shipps was a decorated veteran the U.S. Air Force, serving from 2003 to 2014. She was active in SPARTA, an organization for trans military members, and produced a number of YouTube videos documenting her gender transition. Shipps and her spouse Leeanna resided in Hampton, Virginia with their daughter Grace.
October 12, 1961 – November 19, 2013
Madison Heights High School grad Cheri Jo Fiebig performed for more than 30 years as a male impersonator, appearing at the State Bar in Flint, Silent Legacy in Inkster, and other bars in Metro Detroit in the 1980s and ‘90s. She was featured on such local TV shows as Good Morning Detroit and Kelly & Company. Fiebig later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee and died from lung cancer at age 52.
August 8, 1908 – November 13, 1984
Autoworker Homer F___ was arrested in 1938 while cruising in the Strand Theater in downtown Flint. The judge in his case asked if he should be sterilized, if that would solve his condition. After completing probation, he served in U.S. Army during World War II, married, and later moved to Washington State, fathering five children.
Anacortes American, November 14, 1984
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 