June 17, 1949 – August 27, 1998
Detroit native Alvine Eugene Bell performed as Elaine St. Jacques at such venues as Bookie’s, My Fair Lady, and the Other Side, winning the titles of Miss Iron Hinge in 1974, Miss Todd’s in 1981, and Miss Michigan in 1982, as well as the first Miss Gigi’s crown in 1975. Bell held an administrative position with the HIV/AID service organization Project Survivor. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 49.
No known obituary
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.
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
June 4, 1969 – July 26, 1996
David Scott May was 1987 graduate of Holt High School, where he was a champion diver. May was preceded in death in 1995 by his lifetime soulmate Klayton Shepard. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 27.
Lansing State Journal, July 28, 1996
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 4, 1966 – September 11, 1997
A Lansing native Juan Hernandez graduated with the class of 1984 from Eastern High School. Hernandez became involved with the Lansing Area AIDS Network in the 1990s. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 30.
Lansing State Journal, September 14, 1997
December 27, 1954 – July 8, 2002
Ronald Bradley Fracker of Ypsilanti was born in Jackson and graduated from Michigan Center High School in 1972 before earning his Bachelor’s from the University of Michigan. Fracker became an accomplished pianist, taught on the music faculty of Washtenaw Community College, and helped found UM’s first gay and lesbian alumni group. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 47.
Ann Arbor News, July 10, 2002
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.
September 17, 1952 – November 2, 1996
Detroit resident Craig Economy grew up in Dearborn, attended Dearborn High School, and pursued studies in Vermont and Arizona. On returning to Michigan, he worked as a popular hairdresser at Jacobsen’s and other salons. A longtime survivor of HIV, Economy was active in Friends Alliance, the AIDS Interfaith Network, and other organizations. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 47.
October 26, 1966 – December 21, 2007
Born in Los Angeles, Kurt Andrew Tamm went to Bentley High School in Livonia. He later tended bar at Backstreet in Detroit and Cobalt in Ferndale. In his last years, Tamm made a home in Puerto Rico. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 