November 21, 1967 – October 10, 1994
Born in Lincoln Park, Darin Travis Huff graduated with the class of 1986 from John F. Kennedy High School in Taylor and performed with the Taylor Ballet Company. Huff came out at age 16 and for many years worked as a go-go dancer at the Gold Coast, was active in the Performer’s Awards of Detroit, and was also a Mr. Gas Station titleholder. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 26.
No known obituary
September 16, 1954 – February 23. 2019
Jeri Shupe of Pontiac grew up in Taylor and graduated with the class of 1972 from Taylor High School. She worked variously as a ballroom dance instructor, a law office manager, and a licensed cosmetologist. Shupe was active in the Flint-area group Transgender Connect and in 2016, according to her obituary, transitioned from male to female. Her life partner Diane Morin survived her.
October 14, 1949 – August 6, 1994
Taylor resident Larry Thomas Gaynier taught high school English and communications in Brownstown Charter Township for 22 years. A member of the Association of Suburban People in the early 1980s, Gaynier later served on the boards of Affirmations and the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 44.
Detroit Free Press, August 9, 1994
July 19, 1941 – May 30, 2016
Taylor resident and Detroit native Diane Mary Bono graduated from Allen Park High School in 1959 and later worked as a cosmetology instructor. From 1974 to 1979, along with her then-partner Donna Chartier and their friend June Reynolds, Bono operated the Casbah Lounge, the first lesbian-owned lesbian bar in Detroit.
No known obituary
August 17, 1959 – May 1, 2018
Suzan Ruth Selewski of Taylor graduated from Riverside High School in Dearborn Heights. For 18 years she taught at Logan Elementary School in Detroit. She retired in 2013, preceding a long battle with ovarian cancer. Selewski was survived by her spouse and life partner of 23 years Julia Herod.
August 9, 1973 – September 30, 2010
Born in Detroit, Aaron-Carl attended Detroit schools and graduated from Harry S Truman High School in Taylor. An electronic musical artist and DJ known for house, techno, and electro-funk, he received three Performers Awards of Detroit nominations and had a Top 40 hit on Billboard’s dance chart with “My House” in 1998. He died at age 37 from lymphoma and was survived by his partner Mel Winders.
November 5, 1940 – August 13, 2018
Karen Sundberg of Taylor was born in Marquette, graduated from Ishpeming Public Schools, earned her B.A. from Northern Michigan University, and received an M.A. from Wayne State. In the 1980s, she was active in Lesbian Sisters Building a Network and served as treasurer of the Detroit Area Gay/Lesbian Council. Sundberg was also active for many decades in the National Organization for Women.
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
October 9, 1955 – October 13, 1992
Alvin Keith Foster grew up in Taylor and Romulus, attending Christian schools before landing a job as an upholsterer for General Motors. After taking classes in floral design, he began working for Flowers by Sandino in Redford Township. In 1989, with Sandino Ciccarelli, Foster opened the Timesquare dance club in downtown Detroit. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 37.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 