October 8, 1947 – May 16, 1994
Born in Detroit, Carl Rippberger graduated from Denby High School and served a tour of duty in Vietnam as a U.S. Army draftee. He bar tended at Tiffany’s before acquiring the Escape Lounge, which he opened as Backstreet nightclub in 1979. Rippberger served as president of the Detroit Bar Guild and helped raise funds for Wellness House and Affirmations. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 46.
Detroit Free Press, May 19, 1994
September 23, 1964 – June 18, 1999
Detroit resident James Richard Kirkwood Jr. was employed with a credit union. He learned he had HIV in 1989 and kept his status secret from his family for nine years out of shame and fear of rejection for his sexuality. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 34.
July 20, 1944 – February 26, 1987
Detroit native Paul Charles Ganter served in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1963. Ganter moved to Houston in 1971 and lived for a time in Austin and New Orleans. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 42.
April 9, 1958 – August 14, 1989
Lawrence Richard Burns was born in Detroit and for nine years worked at the Backstage restaurant, first as a waiter and later as assistant manager and bookkeeper. A onetime resident of Palmer Park in Detroit, Burns lived in Westland. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
March 26, 1949 – August 5, 2005
Onetime Birmingham resident Daniel Lee Stoepker was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1986. He was a church elder active in Presbyterians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns and served on the board of directors for AIDS Partnership Michigan. Stoepker was preceded in death by his partner Brad Kosko and survived by his daughter and son. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 56.
November 26, 1957 – August 31, 2003
Taylor resident Robin Enez Ware contracted HIV from her husband and passed the virus to her daughter at birth. As a social worker for AIDS Partnership, Ware targeted outreach to at-risk populations and help educate people that AIDS was not simply a gay disease, work that was highlighted in a July 1997 issue of the Detroit Free Press. She died from AIDS-related complications at age 45.
No known obituary
August 3, 1947 – May 14, 1992
Mt. Clemens native and resident Scott McCready attended Hillsdale College before moving to California. He returned to Metro Detroit in the mid-1980s after learning he had HIV. As president of Friends Alliance for two years, McCready was a prominent local advocate for Persons with AIDS. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 44.
Detroit Free Press, May 15, 1992
December 9, 1954 – June 13, 1999
Raised in a military family, Rev. James Joseph Beates earned his theology degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He moved to Michigan from West Falls, New York and lived in Detroit and Garden City. Beates was the first openly gay pastor to serve in the Presbytery of Detroit and was active in Friends Alliance. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 44.
Detroit Free Press, June 16, 1999
September 18, 1955 – September 25, 1993
Born in Jackson, Timothy Gerald Warner shared a home in Ferndale with his life companion David Wyka and worked for Consumers Power. Warner served as president of the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce, sat on the city’s Beautification Commission, and volunteered with Wellness Networks. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 38.
October 26, 1951 – October 26, 2009
A longtime HIV survivor, Douglas Pizzala was born and raised in Pontiac. He earned a B.A. in education from Central Michigan University and later worked for the AIDS Consortium of Southeast Michigan and AIDS Partnership Michigan. Pizzala and his life partner of 28 years Ken Pape shared a home in Pleasant Ridge. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 