PEOPLE WE’VE LOST IN 2022: VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, LGBTQ+ CELEBRITIES, AND NOTABLE ALLIES
Read the full article online at thegavoice.com.
There’s a Jewish proverb: “What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul.” The LGBTQ community suffered many tragedies in 2022, and as we reflect on the year, it’s important to grieve the members of the LGBTQ community we lost.
On November 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance, news broke of a mass shooting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at LGBTQ club Club Q. Five lives were taken, including two transgender individuals, Daniel Aston, 28, and Kelly Loving, 40. The victims, including Ashley Pugh, 35; Derrick Rump, 38; and Raymond Green Vance, 22, are deeply missed and remembered by friends and family.
The Human Rights Campaign reported 35 transgender and gender non-conforming lives were also lost to violence in 2022, including Aston and Loving. Unfortunately, these numbers are likely underreported due to a lack of proper identification as transgender or gender non-conforming by media, police, or others.
The transgender and gender non-conforming people we know whose lives were taken from us were Diamond Jackson-McDonald, 27; Tiffany Banks, 25; Semaj Billingslea, 33; Acey Morrison, 30; Regina “Mya” Allen, 35; Dede Ricks, 33; Maddie Hofmann, 47; Aaron Lynch, 26; Kandii Reed, 29; Hayden Davis, 28; Marisela Castro, 39; Cherry Bush, 48; Keshia Chanel Geter, 26; Martasia Richmond, 30; Kitty Monroe; Shawmaynè Giselle Marie, 27; Brazil Johnson; Sasha Mason, 45; Chanelika Y’Ella Dior Hemingway, 30; Nedra Sequence Morris, 50; Raymond “Ray” Muscat, 24; Fern Feather, 29; Ariyanna Mitchell, 17; Miia Love Parker, 25; Kenyatta “Kesha” Webster, 24; Kathryn “Katie” Newhouse, 19; Tatiana Labelle, 33; Paloma Vazquez, 29; Matthew Angelo Spampinato, 21; Naomie Skinner, 25; Cypress Ramos, 21; Duval Princess, 24; and Amariey “Myara” Lei, 20.
A number of LGBTQ celebrities, icons, and local community leaders were also lost this year.
While he did not pass away this year, Bill Lowe, 68, was a prominent art dealer in Atlanta. He founded Bill Lowe Gallery in 1989, and the Buckhead gallery carries on his legacy following his death on December 29, 2021, after a months-long battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Melanie Vaughn, 63, beloved Atlantan and business partner for Doc Chey’s Noodle House left behind her wife and sorrow in the LGBTQ community. Rich Chey wrote: “To her friends and family, she was a confidant, cheerleader and someone they could always count on. To my employees, she was a mentor and a mother-figure. To our guests, she was the face of Doc Chey’s who always had a smile on her face and a kind word for anyone she encountered.” After suffering a catastrophic heart attack on May 11, Vaughn never regained consciousness.
Actor and comedian Leslie Jordan, 67, passed away, on October 24 in a single-car crash. A lifelong advocate for LGBTQ rights, helping to feed and support those in need during the early AIDS crisis, he will be greatly missed. His iconic roles in “Will & Grace,” “Hearts Afire,” and “American Horror Story” remind us of how bright and joyful he was.
André Leon Talley, 73, died on January 18, suffering a heart attack as a result of complications from COVID-19. Talley was highly respected in the fashion industry, rising through the ranks at Vogue Magazine from news director to editor-at-large. He was included in the “50 Most Powerful Gay People in America” list by Out Magazine in 2007.
Gay country musician and committed LGBTQ activist Patrick Haggerty, 78, passed away on October 31 following complications after suffering a stroke a few weeks prior. In 1973, his band Lavender Country released a self-titled album, which is considered to be the first country album by an out musician.
Actress Anne Heche, 53, passed away on August 11, nearly two weeks after she crashed through a two-story house in a Los Angeles neighborhood, Mar Lista. The Donnie Brasco star, who was in a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000, sustained a severe anoxic brain injury along with severe burns.
Aaron Carter, 34, was a pop and hip-hop artist who rose to fame in the late ’90s alongside his Backstreet Boys member brother, Nick. He was found dead in his bathtub on November 5, and his cause of death was deemed to be drowning. Carter came out as bisexual in 2017.
Nichelle Nichols, 89, was an actress, mother, and activist. She was famously known for her role as Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek from 1966 to 1969. She broke barriers after Duke Ellington “discovered” her and helped her become a singer and dancer.
Gay journalist Chuck Colbert, 67, died June 30 of “a serious medical issue.” He reported extensively on the sexual abuse within the Catholic clergy of Boston. He was a lifelong devotee to the core faiths of the Catholic Church.
Thierry Mugler, 73, was a well-known French fashion designer, known for a theatrical and avant-garde approach. Mugler designed looks for Michael Jackson, Madonna, Grace Jones, David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Demi Moore.
Deb Auchery, born Alex Simpson, 30, died September 22 due to complications around Type 1 diabetes. Simpson was a member of The Cult of Tuck, a drag troupe that uplifted queer performance and artistry throughout central Oregon.
Cherry Valentine, born George Ward, 28, died on September 18. The cause of death is unknown to the public. Cherry Valentine is the only drag queen of Romani heritage to appear in the Drag Race franchise, having appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K., and was openly genderfluid.
Valencia Prime, 25, died on September 12 of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. She was dubbed “Philadelphia’s plussize dancing diva” and was a proud trans woman and drag queen.
Read the full article online at thegavoice.com.