February 11, 1948 – May 7, 1990
Known to viewers as Tom Stephens, Detroit native Thomas Stephen Jarzynski worked as weather forecaster for WJRT-TV 12 in Flint from 1984 to 1988. Stephens disclosed his AIDS diagnosis with his former station colleagues in an interview that was broadcast after his death. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 42.
Flint Journal, May 8, 1990
November 17, 1956 – February 21, 1995
Mitch Thomas, also known as Thomas Robert White, was born in Flint, graduated in the Carman High School class of 1974, and served in the U.S. Air Force. White was employed for many years by Abbott’s Meats but was better known as a painter, sculptor, and regular performer at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 38.
Flint Journal, February 23, 1995
October 26, 1967 – July 17, 1998
Born in Flint, Curt Flood Tramble attended the Flint Public Schools and graduated from the Detroit College of Business. He served as a case administrator with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, retiring in 1996. Tramble later worked as a gas station manager and as a hotel desk clerk. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 30.
Flint Journal, July 23, 1998
August 12, 1957 – May 15, 1992
A resident of Burton, Howard Wesley Yoder Jr. served in the U.S. Army from 1976 to 1979 and later earned a Bachelor’s in computer science from Baker College. For the last seven years of his life, Yoder worked at Kmart in Flint. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 34.
Flint Journal, May 17, 1992
February 18, 1963 – April 22, 2012
Flint native Denise Lynn Welsh grew up in Burton and worked as a teacher consultant for student with autism spectrum disorders in the Genesee Intermediate School District for more than two decades. She was survived by her sons and her life partner Betsy Curtis.
February 22, 1938 – August 26, 1981
Douglas Lauren Niles graduated with the Flint Central High School class of 1956 and operated hair salons in downtown Flint for more than 20 years. He was long active in local community theater and civic ballet. Niles was found shot to death in his car.
Flint Journal, August 27, 1981
December 1841 – September 5, 1898
Born in Nova Scotia, Sarah Emma Edmonds began presenting herself as Frank Thompson at age 15. Thompson moved to Flint in the 1860s and was considered “quite a lady’s man.” After serving as a male nurse in Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry the Civil War, Edmonds resumed living as a woman. Her memoir Nurse and Spy in the Union Army became a best seller.
No known obituary
September 2, 1955 – October 22, 2009
Randall Lee Seager, familiar to fans as Bucky, was longtime DJ in the 1980s and early 19980s at the Copa nightclub in Flint. He grew up in Burton Township and Mundy Township and graduated in 1973 from Grand Blanc High School, where he sang in the Mixed Chorus and the Acapella Choir. Later in life Seager worked as a cashier at Kroger.
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.
June 25, 1949 – December 5, 2011
Margaret Ellen “Maggie” Mendoskin was born in Flint and was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Mendoskin earned her cosmetology license in 1970 and worked as a hairstylist in the Flint area for more than three decades. She and her partner Melinda Rea shared a home in Genesee Township and were later buried together.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 