June 19, 1956 – November 15, 2009
Susan Rae Crispin of Clancy, Montana was born in the village of Sparta and earned degrees in biology from Michigan State University. She spent her career with the Nature Conservancy, moving from botanist to director of its Great Lakes Program, dedicated to conserving biodiversity. Crispin was survived by her Randi Levin.
Lesbian Connection, March/April 2010
January 14, 1956 – May 13, 2016
Born in Coldwater, Kathy Ann Rosesiler served 23 years in the U.S. Army. Upon retirement from the military, Rodesiler took a job with South Carolina Youth ChalleNGe Academy program as a Master Sargent Cadre and logistician. Hilda Ross, her spouse of 34 years, survived her.
May 29, 1940 – April 18, 1994
Joseph LaRosa Jr. was born in Ann Arbor, graduated from Dexter High School, and attended Cleary Business School. In the early 1970s, LaRosa hosted Lillian’s Down Under in the lower level of Bookie’s Club 870 in Detroit. In December 1974, he, Michael Crawford, and Hank Trent opened the former supper club Menjo’s as a gay dance club. LaRosa later operated Orca’s before moving to Phoenix.
December 24, 1962 – October 8, 2017
A graduate of Portage High School, Lora Yates earned her B.S. in manufacturing administration and her M.S. in engineering management from Western Michigan University. After moving to New Jersey, she served on her local school board. In 2010, Yates, her wife Pamela, and their twins Ella and Max relocated to Illinois, where she worked as an executive for Sysmex America.
July 1, 1954 – August 28, 1996
Born in Middleville in Barry County, Rexford Palmer moved to Detroit as a young adult to work in retail. He continued his retail career after relocating in the mid-1980s to San Francisco, where he became active in the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
August 27, 1965 – June 4, 2015
A graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, Vielka Holness received her B.A. from New York University. She studied law at the University of Michigan Law School, clerked with the Michigan Court of Appeals, earned a Masters from Columbia, and received certification from Harvard’s Management Development Program in Higher Ed. She capped an esteemed career serving as director for Post-Graduate Opportunities and the Pre-Law Institute of John Jay College.
May 31, 1951 – September 4, 1996
Detroit native Joe Elias graduated from Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods in 1969 and received his B.A. in sociology from the University of Detroit-Mercy in 1973. He worked in personnel at Chrysler and later relocated to Chicago and San Francisco.
December 9, 1972 – March 31, 2006
Born in Saginaw, Annette Berkobien graduated from Michigan State University in 1996 with a B.A. with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. A poet, artist, and playwright, she worked for women’s shelters in Detroit and Lansing before moving to Oakland, California to attend the New College of California.
Lesbian Connection, July/August 2006
February 23, 1958 – August 11, 1990
Kraig Debus grew up in Warren and earned his B.A. in advertising in 1981 from Michigan State University, where he served on the staff of the State News. After graduation, Debus moved to Chicago. He died of complications from AIDS at age 32.
Chicago Tribune, August 14, 1990
March 27, 1957 – December 16, 1988
Wade Leroy Keas grew up in the town of Ravenna and became active in the Gay/Lesbian Council while a student at Michigan State University. He later lived in Austin, Texas, where he worked in the state attorney general’s office. He died from a drug overdose and of complications from AIDS at age 33.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 