Clinical social worker Richard Sumner Spector, who worked extensively with Washington's gay population, died of a heart attack on May 4 at his D.C. apartment, according to his longtime friend Loraine Hutchins. He was 58.

Spector was born on May 31, 1948 in Chicago, where he lived until he was 11 when the family moved to Silver Spring, Md. He returned to the Midwest to attend Beloit College in Wisconsin, where he graduated in 1970.

After college, he spent a short time in a “hippie commune” in Santa Cruz, Calif., Hutchins said, and then returned to Maryland for his master's degree in social work at the University of Maryland.

Spector was married to a wom ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/5-18/locallife/obits/10606.cfm Fri, 18 May 2007 05:00:00 EST Obituary
Peter Haro, 47
By
Friday, April 20, 2007

Peter Haro died in Sacramento, Calif., on March 20 of a congestive heart condition that led to liver failure, according to his friend Dennis Dixon. He was 47.

Born in San Francisco, on May 18, 1959, Haro attended San Diego State University before moving to Holland where he owned and ran a small delicatessen. Interested in world travel, he had visited more than 30 countries by the time he was 25.

Haro worked as a waiter and personnel administrator at many upscale restaurants across the country, eventually settling down in New York City and receiving a bachelor of arts degree in international affairs from New York University. After attending graduate school at the New Scho ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/4-20/locallife/obits/10423.cfm Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:00:00 EST Obituary
Jeffrey D. Shewey, 40
By
Friday, April 13, 2007

Jeffrey D. Shewey, 40, a sales associate for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Georgetown and a prominent supporter of gay causes in Washington and Rehoboth Beach, Del., died suddenly at his Washington home on April 3, according to his close friend, Kevin Ivers.

Shewey was born Jan. 24, 1967 in Tulsa, Okla., and graduated from the University of Kansas in 1991. He was active in the gay communities in D.C. and Rehoboth Beach, serving as table captain co-chair for the 2003 national dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, and was a longtime member of their federal club donors circle. Shewey was an active supporter of Food & Friends, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Camp ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/4-13/locallife/obits/10409.cfm Fri, 13 Apr 2007 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Rev. Reginald 'Reggie' Cuffee & Bobbra H. Anderson
By
Friday, March 30, 2007

pan class="aheaderBlue">Rev. Reginald 'Reggie' Cuffee, 65

Rev. Reginald “Reggie” Cuffee died March 10 at his Washingon home due to complications from diabetes, according to his friend Jim Marion. He was 65.

Born in Chester, Pa., on Oct. 21, 1941, Cuffee attended Cheney University for his undergraduate work and received a Juris Doctor degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1969. For the past 25 years, he was employed by the Child Support Enforcement Division of the D.C. Attorney General's office.

As a minister, Cuffee served many area churches, including the Wesley United Methodist Church, Arlington Metaphysical Chapel and Faith Unit ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/3-30/locallife/obits/10290.cfm Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:00:00 EST Jonathon D. Vladislav 'Vlad' Schwartz, 42

By ZACK ROSEN
Friday, March 23, 2007
Jonathon D. Vladislav “Vlad” Schwartz of Aquasco, Md., died March 4 of liver cancer, according to Eric Gangloff, his partner. He was 42.

Schwartz was born in Boston and raised in Newton, Mass. After attending college in Florida, he joined the Peace Corps, spent time as an agricultural technician in the Philippines and worked at a home for disabled children in Thailand. He moved to Washington in 1993, where he worked at a variety of city institutions, including the Old Post Office Pavilion, the National Zoo, the Smithsonian and Franklyn's Coffee House. He retired in 2001.

Schwartz was a member of the Lambda Squares and a longtime member of the Highw ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/3-23/locallife/obits/10240.cfm Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Marc Slyman, 46
By
Friday, March 09, 2007

Niam Marcus Slyman of Wheaton, Md., died on Feb. 12 of AIDS-related pneumonia at Tidewell Hospice in Palmetto, Fla., according to his friend Jamie Davis. He was 46.

Born on April 29, 1960 in Bethesda, Md., Slyman graduated from Capitol Christian Academy in Upper Marlboro, Md., and Evangel College in Springfield, Mo. At different points in his life he worked in interior design, retail and as a flight attendant. For a number of years he managed Miss Pixie's Furnishings and Whatnot in Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle. Slyman was also the founder and former publisher of Metro Weekly.

“He was one of the warmest, nicest, sweetest people I'd ever met,” says Randy Shulma ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/3-9/locallife/obits/10153.cfm Fri, 9 Mar 2007 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Barbara Gittings, 74
By
Friday, February 23, 2007

Gay rights pioneer Barbara Gittings died of breast cancer Sunday at age 74, according to the Associated Press. Gittings was one of the founders of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), an early lesbian rights organization.

Gittings was born on July 31, 1932 in Vienna, Austria, where her father was serving as a U.S. diplomat. The family returned to the U.S. in the 1940s and Gittings attended Northwestern University in Chicago, but did not graduate.

In 1956, Gittings traveled to California where she met the founders of DOB, who asked her to start the New York City chapter. Gittings edited the DOB magazine, “The Ladder,” from 1963 to 1966, and in 1965 helped organize ga ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2007/2-23/locallife/obits/10084.cfm Fri, 23 Feb 2007 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
José Manuel Nava Sánchez, 53

By AMY CAVANAUGH
Friday, December 15, 2006

José Manuel Nava Sánchez, the former director of the Mexico City-based daily newspaper Excelsior, was found slain in his apartment in Mexico City on Thursday, Nov. 16, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He had been stabbed to death.

Nava, 53, was born in Hidalgo State, Mexico and was openly gay, according to his friend Brett Kitchen. He began his career with the paper in 1976 and, before becoming director of Excelsior, had been the paper's Washington correspondent for 16 years from 1982 to 2004. He returned to his native Mexico in 2002 and held the director post until 2005, when the paper was bought by Grupo Imagen, owner of several Mexican radio stat ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/12-15/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 15 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Ed Tyler, 42
By ZACK ROSEN
Friday, November 17, 2006

Local choreographer Ed Tyler, artistic director of edhead productions, a D.C. based multi-art performance company, died on Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Mt. Rainier, Md., of undisclosed causes. He was 42.

Born and raised in Prince George's County, Md., Tyler spent 17 years as a choreographer in New York before returning to Washington. He was nominated for several Metro D.C. dance awards, and his work “EXPOSE” won in the categories of Set Design and Outstanding New Work. 

Tyler was also the recipient of the 2005 Pola Nirenska Award, given by the Washington Performing Arts Society, for Vision and Innovations in Choreography for Modern Dance.

Dance was not ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/11-17/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 17 Nov 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Aleta Fenceroy, 57
By
Friday, September 29, 2006

Lesbian activist Aleta Fenceroy died of liver and lung cancer on Saturday, Sept. 23, at her home in Omaha, Neb., according to her partner, Jean Mayberry. Fenceroy and Mayberry produced the “Fenceberry Articles,” which for eight years informed e-mail subscribers about global gay issues. She was 57.

Fenceroy was born Dec. 27, 1948 in Princeton, Ill. and moved to Sioux City, Iowa as a young woman to attend Morningside College.  She received a master's degree in music from the University of Minnesota while working part time and raising two children as a single mother on welfare.

In addition to being a church organist for 30 years, Fenceroy worked at a minimum ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/9-29/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 29 Sep 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Jeffrey Librado Méndez, 33
By
Friday, September 22, 2006

Jeffrey Librado Méndez, an international advocate for social justice, died on Sept. 10 after a sudden relapse of leukemia at George Washington University Hospital, according to longtime friend Matt Horton. He was 33.

Méndez was born on Dec. 5, 1972 in Cuero, Texas, where he grew up and graduated from high school. He received his bachelor's and master's of arts degrees from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.  He was enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Political Studies and Gender at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. He also spent time in Germany as an exchange student.

Méndez was a dedicated seeker of social justice, friends said, which ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/9-22/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 22 Sep 2006 05:00:00 EST William P.J. Smith, 49

By
Friday, August 04, 2006
William P.J. “Sam” Smith of Washington, D.C. and Lancashire, England died on June 3 from complications associated with a brain ailment while hospitalized in Preston, England, according to Alan Roth, a friend and colleague in D.C. He was 49.

Smith was born on May 20, 1957, in Kendall, U.K. near the Lake District, and received a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Lancaster.

He spent most of the last 20 years living in Washington, D.C. and teaching high school mathematics at Washington International School, Roth said. Following a return to WIS in 1997 after a two-year stint teaching in Spain, he also became one of the college counsel ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/8-4/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 4 Aug 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Donald Gibbs, 35
By
Friday, June 23, 2006

Donald E. Gibbs II, a longtime D.C. resident, died from a long illness on May 12 at his D.C. home, according to his friend and former partner, Loyal Snyder. He was 35.

Gibbs was born on Aug. 8, 1970 in Springfield, Ill., and grew up there and in Pekin, Ill. He attended Illinois Central College and Eastern Illinois University and worked as a sports reporter for the Pekin Daily Times from 1989 through 1991.

Gibbs worked as a bank assistant at First National Bank of Springfield before moving to D.C. and working as an executive assistant for Accenture, a consulting firm. He also worked at George Washington University as an executive assistant and at Nextel in Reston, Va., as ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/6-23/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 23 Jun 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Douglas Smith Sheorn, 48
By
Friday, June 09, 2006

Douglas Smith Sheorn, of Washington, D.C., died at the National Institutes of Health on May 28, from complications of a rare autoimmune condition, Epstien-Barr virus related lymphoproliferative disorder, according to his partner, Bernard J. Delia. He was 48.

Sheron was born in Union, South Carolina and graduated from Union High School. He graduated from Clemson University in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in English.

Early in his career, he worked ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/6-9/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 9 Jun 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
James W. Brandon, 73

By
Friday, June 02, 2006

Former Arkansas legislator James W. Brandon, a D.C. resident since the early '80s and a member of the 2F Advisory Neighborhood Council, died Friday of complications from a stroke on May 19 in hospice care after being transferred to the facility from Georgetown Hospital, according to news reports. He was 73.

Born in Poplar Bluff, Mo., to a train engineer and a post office worker, Brandon, known to his friends as “Jim,” attended Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tenn., and then transferred to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Philip Anderson met Brandon at the latter school. “Jim was very well known on campus and was involved in campus politics ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/6-2/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 2 Jun 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituary
Dennis E. Eier, 43
By GREG MARZULLO
Friday, May 05, 2006

Dennis E. Eier, an Arlington, Va., resident for 13 years, died Monday, March 27 from acute renal failure at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., according to his partner of 14 years, Ben Calhoun. He was 43.

Eier was born in Dayton, Ohio on Feb. 20, 1963. After graduating from the Waynesboro Area Senior High School in Waynesboro, Pa., in 1981, Eier attended the Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1986 with a bachelor's degree of science in accounting.

Eier moved to the D.C. area in 1986 and worked briefly at JR.'s bar before landing an accounting job with an international bank. He then became the senior accou ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/5-5/locallife/obits/obit.cfm Fri, 5 May 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituary

By
Friday, March 31, 2006

trong>Henry Yaffe, 88

Henry Yaffe, former owner of the popular Capitol Hill bar Mr. Henry's, died on March 25 at the Washington Home hospice of heart and renal failure, according to a hospice official. He was 88.

"You can only describe him as a real Capitol Hill character," says Alvin Ross, now co-owner of Mr. Henry's. "Henry was his own personality."

Yaffe was born in Baltimore in 1917 to Lithuanian parents who had immigrated only four years earlier.

For a short period of time, Yaffe worked as a hairstylist in Baltimore until he was drafted into the Ar ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/3-31/locallife/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 31 Mar 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituary
Stephen Anderson Miller, 52
By
Friday, March 24, 2006

Stephen Anderson Miller, a local coordinator of 1983's March on Washington, died on March 21 of heart failure at his sister's home in Silver Spring, Md., according to his former partner, John DeTaeye. He was 52.

Miller was born on Jan. 22, 1954 in Washington, D.C., and graduated from McKinley High School in 1972. He obtained his undergraduate degree in public administration from George Washington University in 1976.

Miller's father, David, worked as a Pullman car porter and helped organize his colleagues to lobby for better conditions and pay.

"I think that contributed a lot to Steve's passion for th ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2006/3-24/locallife/obits/obit.cfm Fri, 24 Mar 2006 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
2005 year in review
By
Friday, December 30, 2005

JANUARY

Susan Sontag, writer

Although Susan Sontag died in December 2004, a flurry of questions flew in January 2005 about various Sontag obituaries, few of which discussed her lesbian relationship with photographer Annie Leibowitz.

The relationship, Sontag had said, was "an open secret."

Sontag was a leading intellectual and activist for the past half century who introduced the concept of “camp” to mainstream culture and influenced the way many thought about art, illness and photography.

She died Dec. 28 at age 71.

Sontag's son, David Rieff, said the cause of death was compl ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2005/12-30/locallife/obits/year-obits.cfm Fri, 30 Dec 2005 05:00:00 EST Obituaries
Lynda Joyce Odom, 61
By KATHERINE VOLIN
Friday, December 09, 2005

Lynda Joyce Odom, a retired teacher and administrator, died Nov. 13 of cancer at her home in Silver Spring, Md., according to her partner of 26 years, Carol Bergen. She was 61.

Odom was born in Bartow, Fla., on March 1, 1944. In 1966, she graduated from Erskine College in South Carolina and later received her master's degree in mathematics from Louisiana State University.

After teaching for two years in Florida, she moved to Montgomery County, Md., where she taught at Cabin John Middle School in Potomac, Md.; Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Md.; and John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Md. In 1982, she worked for the Montgomery County Public Schools' d ... ]]> http://washblade.com/2005/12-9/news/obits/obits.cfm Fri, 9 Dec 2005 05:00:00 EST