January 2, 1897 – October 11, 1964
Harold Clement Auer was born in Cadillac. In 1921, while working as a writer for the Detroit Free Press, he wrote a fan letter to famed British author Edward Carpenter, correspondence later included in Jonathan Ned Katz’s 1983 book Gay/Lesbian Almanac. Auer spent the last 20 years of his life in the Eloise Psychiatric Hospital in Westland, later known as Wayne County General Hospital and Infirmary.
No known obituary
April 9, 1958 – August 14, 1989
Lawrence Richard Burns was born in Detroit and for nine years worked at the Backstage restaurant, first as a waiter and later as assistant manager and bookkeeper. A onetime resident of Palmer Park in Detroit, Burns lived in Westland. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 41.
April 27, 1932 – May 28, 2013
Born in the small town of Quincy, Muriel Van Patten earned her B.A. and M.A. at Eastern Michigan University. She taught visual arts at Fenton High School and served as an elementary art teacher and principal in the Wayne-Westland Schools. She retired from the Michigan Department of Education. Van Patten had her own art shown in numerous exhibitions. She was survived by her partner Wanda Jubb.
February 15, 1958 – March 10, 1999
Brian Bullock was a regular patron at several west side Detroit bars and, prior to retirement, worked at Greenfield Tool & Die.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 