January 11, 1953 – December 26, 1995
Cappisene Ford, known to most in the gay community as Ms. L.T.D. (for La Twiggy Darling), began to entertain in the 1970s at the Escape, My Fair Lady, and other Detroit bars. She later went on to perform in Paris and Hong Kong. From 1979 to 1980 she served as Records Officer for the Michigan Organization for Human Rights. She died from AIDS-related complications at age 42.
No known obituary
May 6, 1943 – March 20, 2016
Roseville resident Atiba Nosakhere Cohen, formerly of Inkster, supported the Forum Foundation, served on the board of directors of Karibu House, and was active in the formation of SAGE Detroit. Cohen was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 6th annual LGBT Older Adult Summit in Detroit in 2016.
No known obituary
September 13, 1950 – December 19, 2011
Originally from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Al Brewer sang at such gay Detroit clubs as Bookie’s, My Fair Lady, and the Other Side in the 1970s. He received multiple nominations for best live male vocalist from the Performers Awards of Detroit. Toward the end of his life, Brewer served as Karaoke host at the Temple Bar.
No known obituary
November 26, 1957 – August 31, 2003
Taylor resident Robin Enez Ware contracted HIV from her husband and passed the virus to her daughter at birth. As a social worker for AIDS Partnership, Ware targeted outreach to at-risk populations and help educate people that AIDS was not simply a gay disease, work that was highlighted in a July 1997 issue of the Detroit Free Press. She died from AIDS-related complications at age 45.
No known obituary
May 21, 1921 – March 4, 2004
Joan Jeanette Corbin was born in Armada, grew up in Richmond, and moved to Los Angeles in 1946. With her then-partner Irma Wolf, Corbin was a founding member of the board for ONE Incorporated, publisher of ONE magazine. She served as art director for ONE under the pseudonym Eve Elloree from 1953 to 1963. Corbin continued to draw into her 70s, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
No known obituary
August 15, 1914 – December 23, 1985
A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Leon Alfred DeMeunier grew up in Detroit and earned a degree in business administration from the University of Detroit, after which he operated his own tax and accounting service. He chaired the Detroit Congress of Racial Equality in the early 1960s and was active in the early gay organization ONE in Detroit.
No known obituary
November 4, 1914 – January 18, 1991
Pianist Stennis Ousley accompanied Bramwell “ChiChi” Franklin at the Golden Slipper and other venues in the 1950s. She performed solo at various straight and gay bars into the 1980s, including the Willis Show Bar, the Tryst Club, and the Deck.
No known obituary.
June 1, 1953 – October 15, 1987
Originally from Illinois, Michael Bennett earned a B.A. in linguistics from Michigan State University in 1974 and an M.A. in linguistics from MSU in 1978. At the time of his death, he was employed with the campus libraries. He died of complications from AIDS at age 34.
No known obituary.
March 17, 1948 – July 31, 1987
A native of New York, Jim O’Connell earned his B.S. in horticulture from Michigan State University in 1978. He later worked as a computer manager for MSU. He died of complications from AIDS at age 39.
No known obituary.
July 22, 1943 – August 5, 1985
William John Mathieson grew up in Grove City, Pennsylvania and attended graduate school at Michigan State University where he earned a Master’s in Spanish in 1967. He later worked as an instructor at San Francisco Community College. He died of complications from AIDS at age 42.
No known obituary.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 