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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Looking back: Local passages in 2013
by Matt Simonette
2014-01-01

This article shared 9525 times since Wed Jan 1, 2014
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—Prince Edwards, a popular young gay dancer who was active in National Youth Pride Services ( NYPS ), died Jan. 16 after an illness. He was 25. The Chicago native was well known for his dance talents, performing at more than 100 events throughout the city.

—Bobby Glaze passed away suddenly on Jan. 8. He was 58. He was a bartender in Atlanta and for many years at Chicago's Baton Lounge, followed by a hospitality career with a major catering company. More recently, Glaze gave back to the community through volunteering with various organizations, including SAGE at the Center on Halsted and his church, aChurch4Me MCC.

—Frederick MacDonald died peacefully in Northwestern Hospital on Jan. 4, after a brief illness. He was 86. MacDonald was retired from Illinois Masonic Hospital where he had worked in the development office as well as medical records. He had worked at Theater in the Round in Washington, D.C, and lived in Texas before coming to Chicago.

—Charles "Chuck" Lee Windemuth, a fixture in Chicago's leather community since the late 1980s, died Feb. 7 at the home of his parents in Cumberland, Md., after a battle with liver cancer, with his family by his side. He was 54 and lived in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood.

—Makayla/Michael Gwinn—a young transgender person whose life work was in mentoring fellow LGBTQ youth, among other things—died Feb. 16 at age 23. An active performer, makeup artist and LGBTQ youth advocate, Gwinn loved life and worked to give back to Chicago's LGBT community. Gwinn, who identified as transgender, used the names Michael, Mikayla and Jaiden.

—Jackie Lane Smitherman passed away in February at age 40 due to liver and kidney failure. Many knew lane at Ragin' Raejean's video store, which he managed for several years. He also worked at He Who Eats Mud and Windy City Sweets.

—Dawn Clark Netsch—a former Illinois comptroller and state senator, the first woman to win the Democratic nomination for governor and a longtime LGBT ally—died March 5 at 86, the Chicago Tribune reported. Netsch had disclosed in January that she had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

—Rudy de la Mor, a cabaret entertainer who performed in Chicago for decades before working on boat cruises and in venues in California, died in March in Irvine, Calif., of complications from surgery. He was 73.

—Rex N. Olsen passed away March 5 at St. Joseph Hospital. After earning degrees in journalism and history from the University of Missouri, Olsen went on to enjoy a long career as managing editor of Hospitals, the magazine of the American Hospital Association. Olsen was the beloved partner of 57 years of Donald E. Seibert.

—Harley McMillen, 70, former executive director of Chicago's Howard Brown Health Center, died March 23 in Viroqua, Wis. McMillen was an important pioneer in the early gay men's health movement, on issues of sexual health, hepatitis and AIDS. He was also very involved in the leather community, and bartended for gay bars. He was also part of the Pride Chicago Motorcycle Club, and bartended at clubs owned by Jim Flint and Chuck Renslow. McMillen also worked for Renslow at Gay-Life newspaper in the early 1980s.

—Rodney Russell Prunckle died March 14 at the age of 65. A graduate of DePaul University, Prunckle taught music before working at Marshall Field's in sales, management and human resources from 1975 until his retirement in 2003. He studied flute with Don Peck ( who was first-chair flautist for the Chicago Symphony ) and played with the Civic Orchestra, the Lake Shore Orchestra and many smaller ensembles.

—Brian Coats, of Chicago, died March 19 at his home. Coats was in hotel management with Starwood Hotels at Westin in Lombard. He also had been an emcee at Maneuvers Club in Joliet, where was knows as "good times" emcee. He was also known as the mouth of the Maneuvers float, which he rode in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade for more than a decade. He brought excitement and fun to every event.

—Timothy Callaway passed away March 31 from complications of pneumonia. He was 47. As Blondina Del Rey, Timothy amazed audiences at 3160 with his searing rendition of "Why'd Ya Do It" and was a member of the club's dart league for a number of years.

—Brant Gniewek, who this year was scheduled to run 52 races of varying distances, including marathons, to help others in the fight against cancer, died unexpectedly May 28. Gniewek was 30.

—Vinnie Arroyo, a longtime, multisport participant and former board member of the predominantly gay Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association died after a lengthy illness. He was 41.

—Donna Pomerance, 73, passed away at her home in Lakeside, Mich., June 16. She was a co-owner of Augies bar, and a strong supporter and contributor of the LGBT community.

—Maria Jacinto, well known in the Chicago lesbian bar community, died at age 54. She started bar-backing at Augie & C.K.'s, then went on to Paris after Augie's, then Star Gaze after Paris.

—Erland M. Parnell, 73, passed away June 15. Besides a fruitful career training and managing at various Baker's Square restaurants, Parnell was very social and active at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Lakeview, where he served altar for many years.

—James "Jim" Bussen, 63, died July 6 in Glen Carbon, Ill., after a long battle with cancer. Bussen was engaged in gay and religious activism starting in 1973. Bussen was inducted into Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1994, in part for his longtime leadership of Dignity Chicago, and for his work as president of DignityUSA from 1985—1989.

—Michael "Mikey" Morehead, who had a passion for musical theater and worked as a VJ at Sidetrack for about six years, died the night of July 23 at a hospice care facility in Glenview. He was 43.

—Michael William Lancaster, a Rogers Park resident, passed away peacefully after a long illness. He was 48. He was the beloved partner of 17 years to Charles Raymond Hemphill.

—Josephine D'Angelo—one of the 60 original players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League—died Aug. 18 at Resurrection Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Park Ridge, according to the Park Ridge Sun-Times. She was 88.

—Robert L. Cecil, Jr., 52, of Chicago, passed away July 25. His committed service to the LGBTQ community in Chicago with such organizations as The Newtown Alano Club and The Rec ( recovery ) Room, helped a great many affected by HIV and addiction find recovery.

—Jeff Netz, of Naperville, passed away Sept. 25. He was an assistant manager/chef at Catering by Knight in Oak Brook.

—Bruce Howard Catt, 48, passed away Oct. 9. Besides a long career as a client representative for Owens and Minor Medical Supply, he was a dedicated NOH8 campaign activist and longtime member of Lincoln Park Lagooners. Catt was the beloved husband of 23 years to John Alexander Pucker; loving father of Rick Laughery; and honorary father figure of many.

—Paul Joseph Wickliff died Oct. 23 at the age of 51. Wickliff was a CPA who owned Wickliff & Associates in Chicago, and was involved in the Chicago Pit Bull Rescue Organization.

—Cathie Ellen Kopecky—a prominent figure in the 1980s LGBT scene in Chicago—died Oct. 12. She was 56.

She was a founding board member of Horizons, which later became the Center on Halsted. Kopecky also frequently taught business classes at the Women's Business Development Center.

—Brenda Ellen Marie Williams, one of the founding members of Artemis Singers and early supporter of Mountain Moving Coffeehouse, died at home Oct. 11. She was 72.

—William Gary, known to friends and patrons as "Feathers," passed away at age 74. Gary tended bar for many years, notably at Bulldog Road, The Granville Anvil, and Buddies Restaurant and Bar, which was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2003.

—Terry L. Baker—a resident of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., who once lived in Chicago—passed away Nov. 11. He was 69.

—Wally Dwyer passed away Nov. 19 at the age of 49. He worked with many theaters over the years, most notably The Ivanhoe, Bailiwick and Lionheart theater companies. Wally also worked for several businesses in the community.

—Nathan Alexander Thaddeus Loveless—the son of local LGBT-rights activist Marc Loveless—died at age 23.

—Ann Muller—a resident of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, who once lived in Chicago—died Dec. 4. She was 78. Her book, Parents Matter, Parents' Relationships with Lesbian Daughters and Gay Sons, was published in 1987, and she wrote a syndicated column about her family for gay newspapers from 1986 to 1989. In 1981 she was one of the first three parents ever to march in Chicago's gay pride parade.

—Robert A. Vade Bon Coeur passed away Dec. 6, at his residence in Crete, Ill. He was 77. A Catholic priest who was ordained in 1963, he was survived by his partner, Roy Olson.

—Hal Brun, 66, was the lifetime partner for 30 years of Jeff Ginsberg. He was the director of special education at New Trier High School; director of special services Evanston/Skokie District; and executive director of the East DuPage Special Education District in Villa Park.


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