April 1, 1970 – January 2, 1998
Falmouth resident James Douglas Minterfering graduated from Mt. Morris High School, where he performed in the marching band. He was employed for many years with Perry Drug Store in Flint. Minterfering also performed in local dinner theater. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 27.
Flint Journal, January 4, 1998
April 28, 1949 – November 7, 1990
Michael Murray earned a Bachelor’s in theology at Loyola University of Chicago and oversaw religious education at two Catholic parishes and at the Michigan School for the Deaf in the mid-1970s. Murray was a founding member of Dignity/Flint and portrayed Jesus in productions of Godspell with the Flint Community Players in 1977 and 1984. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
Indianapolis Star, November 12, 1990
Flint Journal, December 11, 1990
August 23, 1964 – January 11, 1997
David Andrew Sefernick was born in Flint and attended the Carman schools. During high school, he regularly snuck into the Copa nightclub, where he met his first gay friends and where he later had a job operating the light system. After living in New York for six years, he returned to Flint in the early 1990s and was a manager at Burger King. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 32.
Flint Journal, January 13, 1997
February 11, 1948 – May 7, 1990
Known to viewers as Tom Stephens, Detroit native Thomas Stephen Jarzynski worked as weather forecaster for WJRT-TV 12 in Flint from 1984 to 1988. Stephens disclosed his AIDS diagnosis with his former station colleagues in an interview that was broadcast after his death. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 42.
Flint Journal, May 8, 1990
November 17, 1956 – February 21, 1995
Mitch Thomas, also known as Thomas Robert White, was born in Flint, graduated in the Carman High School class of 1974, and served in the U.S. Air Force. White was employed for many years by Abbott’s Meats but was better known as a painter, sculptor, and regular performer at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 38.
Flint Journal, February 23, 1995
October 26, 1967 – July 17, 1998
Born in Flint, Curt Flood Tramble attended the Flint Public Schools and graduated from the Detroit College of Business. He served as a case administrator with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, retiring in 1996. Tramble later worked as a gas station manager and as a hotel desk clerk. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 30.
Flint Journal, July 23, 1998
April 15, 1949 – April 26, 2010
A board member of Affirmations in the early 1990s, Kathryn Leta Wright of Lathrup Village earned her D.O. from the Michigan State University School of Osteopathic Medicine. In her position with the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, she founded the Horizons Project in 1994 targeting the needs of HIV-positive and at-risk youth. Wright was survived by her life partner Susan Brooks and daughter Jordan.
February 4, 1938 – February 27, 2009
Portia June Fagan was born in Kalamazoo, attended Richland High School, graduated from Western Michigan University, and had a long career as a tax preparer and real estate broker. In 1994, she came out as lesbian in the Kalamazoo Gazette to “break down stereotypes.” Fagan and her life partner Janice O’Dell retired to Arizona in the early 2000s.
February 12, 1943 – November 24, 2014
Rockford resident Patricia “Patti” Gibbs graduated with the class of 1961 from Central High School in Grand Rapids and retired from Quest Diagnostics. She was a longtime member of Reconciliation Metropolitan Community Church and served as one of its directors.
December 24, 1979 – September 23, 2016
Ryan Pennacchini Hall was born in Midland and grew up in Gladwin. He graduated from Gladwin High School and attended Eastern Michigan University before moving in 2003 to Tucson, Arizona, where he worked as a manager at Bookmans new and used bookstore. Pennacchini Hall and his spouse Frederico Hall Pennacchini were married on October 25, 2014.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 