September 16, 1950 – November 14, 2010
Longtime Bloomfield Hills resident and advertising executive Lois Anne Yeagley graduated from Marian High School in 1968 and earned her Bachelors and Masters in advertising from Michigan State University in 1972 and 1973. Yeagley was co-founder in 1999 of the Godmothers, a Metro Detroit social and charitable group.
January 28, 1925 – June 21, 2003
Hal Lawson, a graduate of Wayne State University, was founding chair from 1958 to 1960 of the Detroit Area Council of the Mattachine Society, the first known organization for homosexuals in Michigan. He was later involved in ONE in Detroit, the Association of Suburban People, the Michigan Organization for Human Rights, the Unitarian-Universalist Gay Caucus, and Dignity/Flint.
May 4, 1932 – October 19, 2012
In 1953 and 1954 Barbara Jean “Barb” Sowers played outfrield with Muskegon Belles and the Grand Rapids Chicks in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Born in Detroit, she grew up in Livonia and retired as a high school counselor with the Livonia schools, where she headed the teachers’ union in the mid-1970s. Sowers was preceded in death by Shirley Weaver, her companion of 45 years.
December 5, 1932 – February 19, 2014
Born in East Grand Rapids, John “Jack” Campbell attended the University of Michigan for a year before finishing his B.A. in accounting at Kent State. In 1965 he opened the Club Baths in Cleveland, the launch of a national chain of gay bath houses. Later in Miami, he helped lead resistance to Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” crusade. Campbell remained active in Democratic Party politics throughout his life.
April 5, 1939 – March 9, 2018
Robert Francis “Bobby” Schorle was an icon in the Grand Rapids gay community. Schorle was longtime co-owner of various bars, including the Carousel Lounge, Turn About, Carousel II, and the Cell. He was also instrumental in creating the local Queen of Hearts pageant. Born in Chicago, Schorle grew up on a fruit farm in Fennville and graduated from Fennville High School in 1957.
June 25, 1949 – December 5, 2011
Margaret Ellen “Maggie” Mendoskin was born in Flint and was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Mendoskin earned her cosmetology license in 1970 and worked as a hairstylist in the Flint area for more than three decades. She and her partner Melinda Rea shared a home in Genesee Township and were later buried together.
July 18, 1952 – July 17, 1993
Eastpointe resident William Daryl Townsend was founding president of Friends Alliance for people with HIV, served on the board of Wellness Networks, and co-founded the Detroit chapter of ACT UP. His appearance on WDIV’s Sonya Friedman Show was canceled in 1985 because the camera crew feared AIDS contagion. He died of AIDS-related complications at age 40.
March 19, 1954 – January 29, 2014
Longtime HIV and AIDS educator and advocate Kaye Lourena McDuffie served as communicable disease coordinator and intervention prevention specialist for the Lansing Area AIDS Network. Born in Ferndale, she graduated from Cass Tech in Detroit before attending Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. A devoted wife and mother, McDuffie was also active in local theater.
April 3, 1958 – April 25, 2010
Sue Helene Miller of Lancaster, California grew up in Lake City in Missaukee County. Of Saginaw Chippewa heritage, Miller earned degrees in social work at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the University of Washington, later pursuing a career as a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor. Miller was survived by her partner Michelle Klein.
Lesbian Connection, July/August 2010
November 29, 1970 – November 3, 2016
Melissa Sorber Schout graduated from Grand Rapids Baptist High School in the class of 1988. She later lived in Chicago before settling in Flowery Branch, Georgia outside Atlanta. Schout was employed with RxSleep and was survived by her spouse Alicia Addington.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 