January 6, 1956 – October 29, 2014
Saginaw native Thomas Lohr Jr. graduated from Eisenhower High School and earned a B.A. in marketing at Michigan State University in 1979. After a successful career in advertising in Chicago, he joined his life partner Roger Boike in operating Groundworkes, a landscaping business in Lakeside, Michigan. Lohr was also actively involved in Chicago’s LGBTQ community, participating in two AIDS Rides bicycle fundraisers.
May 31, 1925 – March 13, 1918
Thomas Lohr Sr. was born in Saginaw, attended Arthur Hill High School, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After graduating from NYU, he earned his M.D. from Harvard, then served in the Air Force before returning to Michigan, where he practiced medicine for 39 years. In retirement, he and his husband Robert Rousch spent winters in New Mexico and summers in East Tawas.
October 22, 1987 – January 10, 2013
Ciara La’Shae White was musically inclined at a young age, playing clarinet and bass clarinet in the concert and marching bands at Ruddiman Middle School in Detroit and taking part in the marching band, as well as junior ROTC, at Mackenzie High School. She was a beloved member of the LGBT community and the Ruth Ellis Center.
April 16, 1916 – February 17, 1991
Kalamazoo resident Floyd James “Jim” Spikings was born in Lawton, worked for the railroad in Chicago, and served in the Army during World War II. He later worked as an assembler for the Kozy Coach Company in Kalamazoo and for many years was employed by Musselman’s apple orchards cooperative in Paw Paw. Spikings was also a correspondent with the homophile organization ONE.
Paw Paw Courier-Leader, February 22, 1991
September 21, 1978 – August 2, 2011
Kerstin Monroe graduated from Webberville High School and was employed with the Riverwind Assisted Living facility in Williamston. She lost her life a month before their planned wedding when a car she was riding in was hit by a semi-truck that failed to stop. Monroe was survived by her fiancé Courtney.
Lesbian Connection, January/February 2012
November 20, 1941 – February 2, 1989
Oliver Wellington Sipple was born in Detroit, grew up in Royal Oak, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970, including a tour-of-duty in Vietnam. After leaving the military, he moved to San Francisco, where he could live a more open gay life. On September 22, 1975, Sipple made headlines and history when he prevented an attempted assassin from shooting President Gerald Ford.
January 29, 1956 – January 20, 2011
West Bloomfield resident and University of Michigan football fan Heather Louise Higgins hosted popular Port of Call parties at her home on Middle Straits Lake, enjoying water skiing and riding on her pontoon. Since 2003, she was the owner of Tis Herself Entertainment. Higgins died from cancer at age 54.
Lesbian Connection, July/August 2011
February 11, 1956 – April 8, 2014
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Victor Line was longtime co-owner with his life partner Robert Wiley of Tradewinds nightclub and Triangle World bookstore in Kalamazoo. Both were also strong supporters of what was then known as the Kalamazoo Gay/Lesbian Resource Center.
August 18, 1946 – January 14, 2011
Cynthia Susan Everling, known to friends as Cindy, graduated from Pontiac Central High School and studied philosophy at Oakland University, with additional studies at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. She was a case manager and grant writer for the HIV/AIDS Resource Center. Everling resided in Ann Arbor with her partner of 28 years Lin Jacobs.
June 17, 1955 – June 27, 2005
Detroit native Regi Thompson worked as a party promoter before opening his own gay club, Regine’s Off the Park, in 1997 on the city’s east side. When a fire gutted the club, Thompson rebuilt and expanded the space into a premiere dance spot. He later renamed the bar the Palladium.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 