Remembering the People we Lost This Year

As we reach the end of another year we remember those members of the lgbt community who have left us in the past twelve months. This is by no means a comprehensive list and there are many, many people from local communities who have died this year.

January 2016
5th       Pierre Boulez (aged 90), composer.
6th       Francis King, CBE (aged 86), novelist and theatre critic
10th     Jeanne Cordova (aged 67), activist, author and publisher
10th     David Bowie (aged 69), singer-songwriter and actor
12th     David St. Vincent (aged 48), writer and activist in Romania
13th     Brian Bedford (aged 80), Tony award-winning actor
13th     Bryn Kelly (aged 35), transgender advocate and writer

March 2016

2nd      Tony Warren (aged 79), creator of “Coronation Street”, the world’s longest-running tv soap
13th     Sir Peter Maxwell Davis (aged 81), composer
18th     Guido Westerwelle (aged 54), Vice-Chancellor of Germany 2009-13

April 2016

11th     Miss Shangay Lily (Enrique Vásquez) (aged 53), drag queen and activist
12th     David Gest (aged 62), television producer, ex-husband of Liza Minnelli
14th     Dan Ireland (aged 57), film director and producer
16th     Maurice Kenny (aged 69), poet of Mohawk heritage
18th     Brian Asawa (aged 49), opera singer
28th     Jim Morris (aged 80), bodybuilding multi-champion, including Mr Universe 1977
28th     Demetrius Mallisham (aged 46), lgbt community liaison to the Mayor of Baltimore

May 2016

6th       Candye Kane (aged 54), singer, entertainer and porn star
16th     Donald Eckert (aged 74), photographer and chronicler of the Gay Games
19th     Mario Pannella (aged 86), Italian Member of the European Parliament 1979-2009
26th     Angelo D’Agostino (aged 52), figure skater, Olympic reserve, and Gay Games competitor
28th     Connie Kopelov (aged 90), became the first same-sex spouse in New York City

June 2016

4th       Paul Walentowicz (aged 65), Labour Party campaigner, mayoral spouse of Ealing 2011
10th     Desmond Healey (aged 85), theatre designer
17th     Peter Feuchtwanger (aged 86), concert piano tutor and mentor

July 2016

11th     Bruce Littrell (aged 61), tennis umpire, Chief Umpire at the 2015 US Open
18th     Antony Copley (aged 79), historian of sexuality and of Indian religions
18th     Jeffrey Montgomery (aged 63), activist and anti-violence campaigner
26th     Miss Cleo (Youree Dell Harris) (aged 53), television psychic

August 2016

3rd       Elliot Tiber (aged 81), co-founder of the Woodstock Festival
12th     Mark Thompson (aged 63), former senior editor of The Advocate
14th     Alan Wilkinson (aged 60), Zimbabwean activist and campaigner
28th     Juan Gabriel (aged 66), Mexican star singer

September 2016

8th       Lady Chablis (aged 59), cabaret performer and actor
11th     Alexis Arquette (aged 47), actor
16th     Edward Albee (aged 88), playwright
18th     Stephanie Anne Lloyd (aged 70), businesswoman and reality tv celebrity
24th     John Michael Gray (aged 66), hat-maker who, with partner, was known as The Hat Sisters

October 2016

10th     Marnix Kappers (aged 73), Dutch cabaret singer and actor
23rd     Peter Burns (aged 57), singer with Dead or Alive

November 2016

5th       Giles Waterfield (aged 67), novelist and art gallery director
14th     David Manusco (aged 72), DJ and pioneer of disco music

December 2016

19th     Lionel Blue (aged 86), Reform Rabbi; television and radio personality
19th     German man killed in the Berlin Christmas Market Terror attack (his name withheld by his injured American partner and family)
25th     George Michael (aged 53), singer songwriter

The man killed in the Berlin Christmas market attack reminds us all that we live in troubling times when anyone can become a victim regardless of sexuality. This year we have seen a truly horrific attack aimed at the lgbt community which resulted in the deaths of many lgbt and non-lgbt people.

The Pulse club in Orlando, a well-known gay club in Florida, was attacked on 12th June by a lone gunman in an obvious anti-gay hate crime. The list of victims is as follows:

Stanley Almodovar III, aged 23

Amanda Alvear, aged 25
Oscar Aracena-Montero, aged 26
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, aged 33
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, aged 21
Martin Benitez Torres, aged 33
Antonio Brown, aged 30
Darryl Burt II, aged 29
Jonathan Camuy Vega, aged 24
Angel Candelario-Padro, aged 28
Simon Carrillo Fernandez, aged 31
Juan Chevez-Martinez, aged 25
Luis Conde, aged 39
Cory Connell, aged 21
Tevin Crosby, aged 25
Franky Dejesus Velazquez, aged 50
Deonka Drayton, aged 32
Mercedez Flores, aged 26
Juan Guerrero, aged 22
Peter Gonzalez-Cruz, aged 22
Paul Henry, aged 41
Frank Hernandez, aged 27
Miguel Honorato, aged 30
Javier Jorge-Reyes, aged 40
Jason Josaphat, aged 19
Eddie Justice, aged 30
Anthony Laureano Disla, aged 25
Christopher Leinonen, aged 32
Brenda Marquez McCool, aged 49
Jean Mendez Perez, aged 35
Akyra Monet Murray, aged 18
Kimberly Morris, aged 37
Jean Nieves Rodriguez, aged 27
Luis Ocasio-Capo, aged 20
Geraldo Ortiz-Jimenez, aged 25
Eric Ortiz-Rivera, aged 36
Joel Rayon Paniagua, aged 32
Enrique Rios Jr., aged 25
Juan Rivera Velazquez, aged 37
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, aged 24
Christopher Sanfeliz, aged 24
Xavier Serrano Rosado, aged 35
Gilberto Silva Menendez, aged 25
Edward Sotomayor Jr., aged 34
Shane Tomlinson, aged 33
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, aged 25
Luis Vielma, aged 22
Luis Wilson-Leon, aged 37
Jerald Wright, aged 31