August 6, 1929 – December 26, 2009
Rene Delos Amaya earned his A.B. at Adrian College in 1951 and his Masters from the University of Michigan in 1959. He worked as a librarian at the Detroit Public Library, Oakland Community College, and the Los Angeles Public Library. As a resident of Boston-Edison in the 1970s, Amaya pressed Detroit to redefine family in its zoning ordinance. He was survived by his partner of 45 years John C. Lodge.
October 28, 1971 – September 4, 2010
A native of Oxford, England, Steven William Swan graduated from Grosse Pointe North high School and as a teenager took part in the Youth Group at Affirmations. He later attended Oakland Community College and held jobs at Bill Knapp’s restaurant, Jacobson’s department store, and Art Van Furniture. From 2004 to 2005 Swan as a sales representative for Between The Lines.
Between The Lines, September 23, 2010
Grosse Pointe News, September 23, 2010
March 27, 1950 – March 17, 2006
James Stewart James was born in Detroit and graduated with the class of 1969 from Mumford High School. He later earned his Associates degree from Oakland Community College and was employed at General Motors for 25 years. James was active in Men of Color, Project Survival, and Detroit Black Gay Pride, for many years helping to plan the annual Hotter Than July! picnic in Palmer Park.
December 4, 1940 – July 6, 2020
A graduate of St. Mary’s Academy in Monroe, Sandra Lee Langeland earned her B.S. in physical education from Michigan State University in 1964. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Denver and taught psychology at the Oakland Community College Highland Lakes Campus for 29 years. Langeland and her life partner Susan Murdock shared homes un Union Lake before moving to Florida.
August 3, 1948 – February 27, 2018
Former Ferndale resident Raymond Edward Shepherd was born in Detroit and studied at Oakland Community College and Lawrence Tech. He worked as a computer programmer and analyst for various firms and was a deacon and longtime member of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. At the time of his death, Shepherd lived in a senior community in Hazel Park.
March 29, 1928 – November 1, 2007
A native of Ypsilanti, Mary White earned a B.A. from Eastern Michigan University in 1950, served as a counselor for the Orchard Ridge Campus of Oakland Community College from 1966 to 1992, and was active in the Gaia Women of the Great Lakes Basin chorus. She worked as a psychologist in Royal Oak before retiring to Gilbert Lake near Empire, Michigan.
Lesbian Connection, March/April 2008
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 