August 2, 1882 – March 25, 1959
Frederick Arthur Flett was born in Petrolia, Ontario and immigrated to the U.S. in 1900. He earned his dental degree from the Detroit College of Medicine and practiced dentistry for the next 50 years. Flett was the sole participant whose identity is known of an unsuccessful attempt to launch an affiliate of the Mattachine Society in Detroit in 1954, four years before a local chapter was finally established.
No known obituary
April 24, 1928 – May 22, 2020
Jerry Abraham Moore grew up in Detroit, graduated from Redford High School, and attended Wayne State before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950. Following his military service he became immersed in Detroit’s gay bar scene and from 1958 to 1960 served as secretary of the short-lived Detroit Area Council of the Mattachine Society, the first ever formal homosexual organization in Michigan.
November 20, 1919 – April 6, 2008
Fort Wayne, Indiana native Richard Dingley served as a Warrant Officer in World War II. He worked for many years with International Harvester in Traverse City before retiring to Cincinnati, Ohio. Dingley enjoyed baseball, railroads, and opera. He was a longtime subscriber to the early homophile magazine the Mattachine Review in the 1950s.
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.
February 28, 1921 – May 20, 2001
David Whitney Brewer was founding vice chairman in 1958 of the Detroit Area Council of the Mattachine Society, the first known homosexual organization in the State of Michigan.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 