April 22, 1948 – December 18, 1978
Muskegon native Gregory Don Williams graduated with the class of 1966 from Muskegon Catholic High School and subsequently attended Michigan State University and Wayne State University. In June 1972, he took part in Michigan’s first-ever pride celebration in Detroit. At the time of his death, he was employed with a Wall Street brokerage firm in New York.
Muskegon Chronicle, December 20, 1978
June 26, 1947 – December 7, 2010
Michael David Scott was born in Lansing and graduated from Central High School in Kalamazoo in 1966. He later worked as a chef in Lansing and at Michigan State University. Scott was a noted local drag performer and in June 1972 won the Miss Capital City title at a pageant held at Joe Covello’s. Days later he led the first-ever Pride parade down Woodward in Detroit and sang at the rally in Kennedy Square.
October 10, 1953 – October 8, 1978
Born in Battle Creek, John Wayne Schallberg attended Climax-Scotts High School, graduated from American Beauty College, and operated the Masquerade Shop in Climax. He was a participant in the Kalamazoo Gay Liberation Front and, as Nadine, was one of several drag queens who rode the hood of a Ford in Detroit’s first pride parade in 1972. Schallberg took his own life just before his 25th birthday.
Kalamazoo Gazette, October 10, 1978
February 7, 1957 – April 27, 2003
Port Huron native David Quinn graduated with the class of 1975 from Port Huron High School and was employed with Kroger for 18 years. He was a founding member of and served on the board for Blue Water Pride. Quinn also helped to plan and organize the international Sarnia-Port Huron Pride celebration.
Port Huron Times-Herald, April 29, 2003
June 18, 1929 – April 28, 2016
Gobles High School graduate Ruth Evonne Ketchum attended Western Michigan University and worked for many years at Upjohn pharmaceuticals. She played on the Brodys competitive fast-pitch softball team as catcher. Ketchum also took part in Kalamazoo’s annual Pride parade, attended Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and belonged to Phoenix Community Church.
February 23, 1967 – October 27, 2018
Roseville resident LaVell Williams grew up in Detroit, graduated from Cooley High School, and attended the Center for Creative Studies. From 1997 to 2010, he worked at Record Time in Roseville and Ferndale and music was central to his life. Williams was co-founder of the Detroit Sound Conservancy and volunteered with the Michigan Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, AIDS Walk Detroit, and Motor City Pride.
September 17, 1932 – June 23, 2010
A native of Ypsilanti, Donald Hazlett served in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. Hazlett later operated Don’s Beef N Ale in Detroit and with Paul Espenscheid co-owned Menjo’s during the 1990s. He and Espenscheid shared the Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the 1994 Detroit area Pride Banquet.
January 22, 1935 – September 29, 2015
A pioneer in the Grand Rapids LGBTQ community, Milton Lennox was longtime owner of the Apartment Lounge with his life partner Edward Ladner. Together they provided financial support for the Network, now known as the Grand Rapids Pride Center, and the Red Project. Months before Lennox’s death, he and Ladner celebrated their 50th anniversary as a couple.
November 23, 1948 – September 29, 1994
Artist Jay Manning designed the Christopher Street Detroit ’72 pride celebration logo, which showed a butterfly with sweeping wings and a clenched fist for a body. The image also graced the window of the Green Carnation, the city’s first gay community center. Manning died from AIDS-related complications at age 45.
November 3, 1946 – April 28, 1991
A graduate of Wayne State University, Kenneth T. Dudley was a pioneering activist with the Detroit Gay Liberation Front and speaker at the city’s first pride march and rally in 1972. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 44.
No known obituary.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 