October 17, 1930 – July 31, 2010
JoAnn Westrick grew up in Toledo, Ohio and earned her B.S. in Nursing from Wayne State in Detroit in 1969. From 1975 to 1993 she taught on the faculty of Michigan State University college of Nursing, specializing in psychiatric mental-health nursing. She was survived by her partner of 27 years Donna Hardenberg.
July 24, 1967 – January 28, 1991
Michael LaGatella graduated from Lincoln High School in Warren and tended bar at the Woodward in Detroit while attending Wayne State University. After he took his own life, LaGatella’s friends established a scholarship in his name for gay and lesbian students at Wayne.
Wayne State Celebrates 20th Anniversary of LaGatella Scholarship
November 19, 1955 – September 27, 2003
As board chair and educator with Gospel Against AIDS/Global Research, Education, and Training Network, physician Isabello Reyes Jr. pushed for AIDS education, care, and civil rights protections. In addition to his advocacy, Reyes taught at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Detroit.
August 14, 1922 – June 6, 1993
Finley Hooper grew up in Detroit and was an assistant professor of Greek and Roman history at Michigan State University in the mid-1950s when he was discovered to be homosexual and forced to leave. He subsequently enjoyed a long and esteemed academic career at Wayne State University.
Grosse Pointe News, June 17, 1993
April 20, 1976 – April 8, 2013
Detroit native Edward Johnson studied dance at Oakland University, Marygrove College, and Wayne State University. His LGBTQ activism included work with the Horizons Project and Men of Color. Johnson also won a number of Detroit area female impersonation titles performing as Tokyo Reign.
January 10, 1931 – May 4, 2016
Outspoken Detroit attorney George Maurer served active duty in the U.S. Army from 1949 to 1955 and another 27 years in the Army Reserves. A co-founder of Wellness House, he earned his B.A. and J.D. from Wayne State University and was also a longtime co-owner of Gigi’s nightclub.
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.
February 17, 1936 – July 24, 2015
A native of Washington, DC, Effie Ambler attended Bryn Mawr, earned her doctorate from Indiana University, and taught on the history faculty at Wayne State until her retirement in 2006.
Grosse Pointe News, August 6, 2015
September 16, 1942 – June 18, 1993
Raised in Tacoma, Washington, Barry Joseph “Biejay” Brewitt served in the Army Medical Corps, attended the University of Detroit and Wayne State University, and worked for Westin Hotels. He was a founder and longtime officer in the early Detroit leather group Tribe. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 50.
Tacoma News Tribune, July 1, 1993
November 3, 1941 – October 14, 2005
Oak Park resident Phyllis Wyrick held a Masters from Wayne State and enjoyed a long career with the Girl Scouts and the YWCA. In the mid-1990s she served on the board for Affirmations Community Center.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 