December 19, 1944 – March 1, 2017
Cynthia “Diane” Miller was born in Flint attended Mott Community College and Eastern Michigan University, and worked for the Flint Community Schools. She and her partner Mary Hill shared 39 years together.
Tag: Flint
Deon Jackson
March 2, 1979 – April 11, 2018
Flint native Deuntia “Deon” Jackson earned his mortuary science degree from Gupton Jones College in Atlanta and worked as a mortician in Michigan and several other states. He performed as DJ Envi, helped establish the Safe Space drop-in center for LGBTQ youth at Wellness Services and in 2011 co-founded the Flint Gay Pride celebration. Jackson was survived by his husband Casio Flood.
Bill Kain
August 7, 1943 – February 28, 1991
Flint native William James Kain was a school teacher before entering the gay bar business. Kain worked as a manager at Stober’s Disco in Lansing and Sylvia’s Club Oasis in Flint in the mid-1970s before opening his own Flint bar the Downtowner’s Club, later renamed the Copa. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 47.
Flint Journal, March 2, 1991
Roy Warren
November 14, 1964 – July 14, 1994
Shelby Township resident Roy Vance Warren was born in Grosse Pointe and attended the Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint. Warren served as president of the Detroit Sign Theater and was involved in other deaf organizations. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 29.
Marvin Burrows
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.
Jean Feimster
January 28, 1962 – December 6, 2017
Jean Feimster of Whitehall and formerly of Lansing graduated high school in 1979 from Flint School of Choice and earned her Bachelor of Science in Social Work in 1989 from the University of Michigan-Flint. She was later employed as Director of Social Services at Hazel Findlay Country Manor in St. Johns. Feimster was an avid Harley rider.
Cheri Jo Fiebig
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.
Mary Ellen Raleigh
June 2, 1940 – January 29, 2012
A graduate of Mott Community College and the University of Michigan, Mary Ellen Raleigh taught English and business writing at UM-Flint from 1975 to 1995. She served on the campus Task Force on Sexual Orientation, played competitive Scrabble, and authored a longtime column for East Village Magazine.
Homer F___
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
Jack Pierson
October 11, 1913 – August 20, 1997
Flint native Jack Pierson was a fierce Leftist. Employed by General Motors, following World War II, he and his longtime partner Robert Purcell moved to Long Island. After Purcell’s death in 1976, Pierson returned to Michigan where he became an avid supporter of the Flint Institute of Arts, donating dozens of photographs, etchings, and lithographs to the museum.
Flint Journal, August 22, 1997
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 