Dates of birth and death uncertain
Stephen Franklin held retail jobs at Silverman’s and National T-Shirt. As manager of Bonnie and Clyde’s disco, he testified before the Lansing City Council in 1980 about police harassment of gay men at the nightclub. He later migrated to Texas. He died of complications from AIDS.
No known obituary.
February 25, 1954 – May 4, 1985
Rick Rapaport worked as a janitor, gas station attendant, cab driver, waiter, cook, bus driver, and for two years as wrestling coach at the Michigan School for the Blind. After dropping out of the University of Michigan in 1974, he visited 45 states and crossed the U.S. fifteen times, returning to school to finish his B.A. at Michigan State University in 1982 with a degree in journalism. He died of complications from AIDS at age 31.
Lansing State Journal, May 6, 1985
October 21, 1916 – July 3, 2007
Born in Tawas City, Dorothy Hoogterp grew up in Grand Rapids, earned her nursing degree from St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing. She was a poet, feminist, an early supporter of Lesbian Connection and the Lansing Lesbian Center, and was considered the matriarch of the Grand Rapids lesbian community.
Lesbian Connection, September/October 2007
November 2, 1942 – July 17, 2012
Lansing resident Judith Rogers Dill earned her doctorate in German language and literature from the University of Michigan in 1979 and at Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. She later pursued a career in information systems management and belonged to the Arts Chorale of Greater Lansing.
July 9, 1950 – January 11, 2009
A 1968 graduate of Lansing’s Sexton High School, Denor Hey earned her Bachelor’s from Central Michigan University and was employed with Disability Determination Services for the State of Michigan for 24 years. She and her life partner Beverly Bristol enjoyed travel, gardening, and their prize-winning Silky Terriers.
March 4, 1963 – March 18, 2011
Lansing resident Karen “Twig” Hartwig graduated from East Lansing High School, attended Lansing Community College, and earned a B.A. from Michigan State University. Employed by Sparrow Hospital and later Sam’s Club, she served on the boards of Suits in the City and Michigan Pride.
Lansing State Journal, March 22, 2011
City Pulse, March 30-April 5, 2011
Lesbian Connection, July/August 2011
February 8, 1960 – June 23, 2015
Rex Allen Weaver grew up in Lansing, where he became a regular in his late teens at Trammpps. After moving to Atlanta, he enjoyed a long career as a hair stylist, most recently at the DASS Salon and Spa.
August 14, 1950 – July 20, 2010
Lansing activist and physical therapist Norman Pross was born in Bay City and grew up in Standish. He earned a Bachelor’s in education from Central Michigan University. After moving to Lansing in 1974, he was employed with the Eaton Intermediate School District and later worked as an HIV/AIDS consultant for the State of Michigan.
September 8, 1955 – October 2, 2014
Lansing resident Nancy Gardner worked as a computer analyst and volunteered with Capital Area Literacy, Haven House, and Edgewood United Church of Christ. She and her spouse Julia Grant were one of more than 300 Michigan same-sex couples to wed on June 21, 2014, the day after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled the state’s marriage ban unconstitutional.
December 4, 1945 – January 11, 2016
A founder in 1979 of the Lansing Association for Human Rights, William Beachler later helped establish the Pride Scholarship for LGBT students at his alma mater Michigan State University.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 