November 28, 1958 – June 12, 2007
Born in Kalamazoo, Cathy Marie Bryant attended Parchment High School and went on to study electrical engineering and graphic arts at Western Michigan University. Bryant and her beloved partner Emily Blanchard met in 1990 and subsequently moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.
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January 24, 1943 – April 8, 2021
Stanwood resident Elizabeth “Betty” Long was born in Kalamazoo and graduated with the class of 1962 from Comstock High School. She went on to work for Upjohn’s pharmaceuticals and later operated the Nature’s Treasures flower shop in the town of Evart in Osceola County. Long was survived by Shirley Moore, her partner of more than 11 years.
April 4, 1971 – October 18, 2009
Born in South Bend, Indiana, Michelle Roxann Maureen Luce attended Loy Norris High School in Kalamazoo, and later moved to Lennon, where she resided for her last 13 years. Luce was survived by her daughter MaKayla and by her partner Mary Ann Posante.
June 26, 1947 – December 7, 2010
Michael David Scott was born in Lansing and graduated from Central High School in Kalamazoo in 1966. He later worked as a chef in Lansing and at Michigan State University. Scott was a noted local drag performer and in June 1972 won the Miss Capital City title at a pageant held at Joe Covello’s. Days later he led the first-ever Pride parade down Woodward in Detroit and sang at the rally in Kennedy Square.
October 20, 1937 – February 26, 2003
The Rev. Dr. Barbara Edith Edgecombe, a Chicago native, graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School and studied piano at the University of Michigan. While working as a piano teacher back in Chicago, she decided to train for the ministry. Edgecombe came out after graduating theological seminary and in the late 1990s served as the openly lesbian pastor of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Greater Lansing.
January 13, 1951 – July 17, 2019
Owosso native and world traveler Micheal Eugene Koutz graduated with the Hastings High School class of 1969 and went on to Central Michigan University. Following two decades with Adventure Travel in Kalamazoo, Koutz and Michael LoPresto established Experts Travel in 1994. The two were also husbands and life partners, together for 39 years.
May 13, 1930 – June 28, 2002
Born in Kalamazoo, Frederick Allen Lake graduated with the high school class of 1949 from Bay City Central. We went on to apprenticed in the craft of organ building in Hamburg, Germany and was employed by pipe organ firms in Saginaw and Illinois before moving to San Francisco to work as a voicer for Schoenstein & Company. Lake corresponded with ONE magazine from Bay City in the mid-1960s.
December 20, 1972 – October 18, 2019
Born in Kalamazoo, Lisa Ilene Carlson graduated from Montague High School in Montague and attended Muskegon Community College. She trained as a paramedic at Great Lakes Academy in Allendale and had a 20-year career as an EMT and EMT trainer. She also enjoyed music and was a devoted fan of the Michigan Renaissance Festival. Carlson was survived by her partner Amanda Visger.
October 10, 1953 – October 8, 1978
Born in Battle Creek, John Wayne Schallberg attended Climax-Scotts High School, graduated from American Beauty College, and operated the Masquerade Shop in Climax. He was a participant in the Kalamazoo Gay Liberation Front and, as Nadine, was one of several drag queens who rode the hood of a Ford in Detroit’s first pride parade in 1972. Schallberg took his own life just before his 25th birthday.
Kalamazoo Gazette, October 10, 1978
July 3, 1923 – August 31, 2020
Mt. Pleasant resident Jean Roberts grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and attended Western Michigan University, where she played tuba in the symphony. She went on to teach physical education in Kalamazoo and at Comstock High School and later worked as a counselor in the Reed City schools. For 15 years, Roberts and her life partner Janet Bush operated J & J Leather.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 