Bob Gammie, 88, a longtime community leader and activist, died January 30 due to cardiac arrest. For the past few years he battled bilateral lung cancer, COPD and heart failure.
Lori Cannon, longtime community HIV/AIDS activist and co-founder of Vital Bridges Center on Chronic Care of Heartland Health Outreach, relayed his death to Windy City Times.
Gammie was born Oct. 19, 1925 in Oak Park, Ill., and he was raised in Riverside, Ill. He served in both the Army and Air Force during World War II. Prior to his retirement, Gammie managed the unemployment office in Evanston, Ill., for many years.
Gammie is survived by two devoted friends, William R. North and Frank McManigal; brother of Helen ( B.J. ) Johnson of Lake Geneva, Wis., and Mary ( Mark ) Anderson of Bailey, Colo.; and uncle of Christine Johnson and Robert Johnson. He was preceded in death by another devoted friend, Paul Moore.
Known as "Ma" or "Gammie" among many of his friends, he was active in the community for more than 60 years, most recently with the group Chicago Prime Timers and the SAGE program at the Center on Halsted. Gammie moved to Chicago in 1949, and during the 1950s and 1960s he organized social gatheringsincluding weekly Tuesday night barbecues, softball games that later morphed into Chicago's gay softball leagues, bowling and volleyball gamesthat evolved into the Lincoln Park Lagooners, Chicagoland's first gay and lesbian social organization.
He was also known for his Halloween and New Year's Eve parties as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners he hosted for members of the community, including many of whom had no place to go.
As a community leader and activist, Gammie helped a number of local LGBT organizations including the Howard Brown Memorial Clinic by combining fun with fundraising. He held many fundraising events in the 1980s at his home and at the Aragon Ballroom as well as other locations around Chicago. These events drew thousands of people with the profits going to support Howard Brown Health Center, Horizons Community Service ( now the Center on Halsted ) and other LGBT charities.
Gammie was inducted in the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2010 and also served as a board member of Chicago Prime Timers for 12 years.
"I will remember him as the person who always said let's go and where's the next party," said North. "Bob told me that being inducted into the Hall of Fame was the highlight of his life."
"I was one of many of the hundreds of people who attended his annual New Year's Eve bash at his historic address 5333 North Lakewood. These were parties of the highest order and by that I mean old school. It was an end-of-the-year celebration for all and the house was packed with members of the community; however, in the early to mid-'80s the party stopped for me with the burgeoning HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Cannon.
"While we organized volunteers to deliver meals to homebound people living with AIDS, Bob continued his association and contributions to community organizations like the Lincoln Park Lagooners and the Prime Timers," Cannon added. "As somebody who respected the mission of feeding people, many of whom were his young friends whom he lost, Bob became a donor and a support when we opened our pantry in the early '90s. Bob also became a regular visitor to our center in Edgewater. As a well known and longtime member of the senior LGBT community, I appreciated the kindness and support Bob offered my program, our low-income clients, and volunteers."
One person who benefitted from Gammie's generosity was Albert Prieto. "Bob had a Victorian home in Edgewater and he took in borders over the years including Albert who lived with Bob for two and a half years," said Prieto's partner, Joseph Zanoni. "Bob supported people who needed a place to stay because they couldn't afford an apartment on their own and/or wanted companionship/support. That is where the den-mother side of Bob's life came into play, as he welcomed people into his home. They became his family.
"I met Bob through Albert and one year Bob invited us to Thanksgiving and both of us ended up at the kids' table since we are so much younger than Bob and his other friends. He was so welcoming and loving to everyone as well as a very unique person. We are sad to see him go."
Prieto continued, "I had barely come out to my family but Bob made it a point to throw a big bash for my 30th birthday. This was before I met Joseph. I didn't want a party but Bob didn't listen and it ended up being so much fun. Bob also made a point to invite my family to the party. That night meant so much to me and I will remember Bob as a very generous and heartwarming person."
"Bob always said life is a party and he was the hostess with the mostest. He had so much energy and we all fed off of it. It was contagious," said his longtime friend and former roommate, Greg Neil. "He acquired the nickname 'Ma' because he was a den mother to so many younger gay men like myself. I also lived in his home which he called The 'Winter Palace.' It was so refreshing for me to see Bob live as an openly gay man long before anyone was talking about gay rights."
A memorial service/celebration of Gammie's life is in the planning stages and will be held in April.