July 15, 1930 – June 21, 1993
Stanley Raymond Jankiewicz, better known in Detroit’s gay bar world as Don Cherry, graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1949 and attended Wayne State University. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and later managed four city golf courses until retiring in 1987. For 27 years he tended bar at such establishments as the Woodward Lounge, the Gas Station, and Menjo’s.
January 25, 1951 – November 19, 1994
Flint native Mark Douglas Chittle graduated from St. John Vianney High School and served a year in the Army in the early 1970s. He lived for a time in Key West, Florida and for much of his life Chittle worked as an accountant in San Francisco. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 43.
November 17, 1956 – February 21, 1995
Mitch Thomas, also known as Thomas Robert White, was born in Flint, graduated in the Carman High School class of 1974, and served in the U.S. Air Force. White was employed for many years by Abbott’s Meats but was better known as a painter, sculptor, and regular performer at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 38.
Flint Journal, February 23, 1995
August 12, 1957 – May 15, 1992
A resident of Burton, Howard Wesley Yoder Jr. served in the U.S. Army from 1976 to 1979 and later earned a Bachelor’s in computer science from Baker College. For the last seven years of his life, Yoder worked at Kmart in Flint. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 34.
Flint Journal, May 17, 1992
July 28, 1921 – January 9, 1994
Born in Detroit, John Pierre Adams served in the U.S. Army during World War II and, while living in New York City following his tour of duty, performed with the Katherine Dunham Dance Company. He returned to Detroit in the 1950s and worked as a shipping clerk for an equipment company. In the 1970s, Adams led the local gay organization ONE in Detroit as its president for three years.
No known obituary
July 9. 1924 – February 19, 1999
Born in Detroit, Columbus Howard spent much of his life in Inkster and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1958, while employed as a 33-year-old stockroom worker at Montgomery Ward in Dearborn, Howard was prosecuted for gross indecency after being caught with another man in Detroit’s Rouge Park.
No known obituary
October 24, 1944 – August 24, 1993
Detroit resident and Highland Park native Edward Walker grew up in Dearborn Township. He joined the U.S. Army following high school and was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds he received while serving in Vietnam. During the 1970s, he worked as an assembler at Ford Motor Company. From 1980 until his death, Walker operated the Hayloft Saloon with his lover Len Lippert.
February 12, 1938 – February 1, 2016
Louis Rhodes Farmer was born in Lynchburg, Virginia and moved to Michigan in 1956. He was employed as a custodian for the University of Michigan while working his way through college, served in the U.S. military from 1961 to 1963, and earned his M.A. in education from Eastern Michigan University in 1970. Farmer retired from teaching with the Chlesea School District in 1988 and lived in Ypsilanti.
December 1841 – September 5, 1898
Born in Nova Scotia, Sarah Emma Edmonds began presenting herself as Frank Thompson at age 15. Thompson moved to Flint in the 1860s and was considered “quite a lady’s man.” After serving as a male nurse in Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry the Civil War, Edmonds resumed living as a woman. Her memoir Nurse and Spy in the Union Army became a best seller.
No known obituary
May 17, 1962 – January 26, 1995
Born in Ann Arbor, David Bruce Goff grew up in South Lyon and graduated from Manchester High School in 1980 before joining the U.S. Navy. He later worked as a mechanic and apartment manager. He also volunteered with Wellness Networks and was active in the Detroit area leather community. Goff was preceded in death by his lover Rudy Sepulvada. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 32.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 