Grand Rapids lost a giant in the LGBTQ community this month when Milt Lenox passed away. Lenox, along with his partner Ed Ladner, were the creators of The Apartment Lounge, a bar but so much more as they provided a safe space for gay men in our community to gather and converse in an era long before the Internet.
At 1 p.m. friends and the close-knit family of The Apartment Lounge will lay to rest a giant in our community at the The Guest House of Arsulowicz. During this special luncheon, Milt Lenox will have his day in our city, as Mayor Heartwell will honor him, proclaiming that Thursday, October 8, 2015 will be Milton Lenox Day in the city of Grand Rapids.
Immediately after, The Apartment Lounge will welcome others in the community to a 3:30 p.m. “raise-a-glass” special tribute event where members of the LGBTQ community and their friends will be invited to share personal stories of the man who was known as Milty to patrons.
Everyone has their own Milt story. My favorite was on the day that this couple were to celebrate their 50th anniversary together the Federal circuit court ruled that Michigan's
DeBoer v. Snyder case denied folks like Milt and Ed access to marriage as unconstitutional. When we about an event that night at the downtown bar. In this case, Judge Friedman wrote, "without some overriding legitimate interest, the state cannot use its domestic relations authority to legislate families out of existence. Having failed to establish such an interest in the context of same-sex marriage, the [state marriage ban] cannot stand."
This 2014 circuit court ruling paved the way for the historic Supreme Court case finally settled in the summer of 2015 extending all rights and privileges to our nation's gays and lesbians.
From Milt's obituary:
“He is survived by his partner of 51 years, Ed Ladner. Milton began the Apartment in 1972 in a building on Lyon Street NW across from the old Vandenberg Center. Through the years the location changed four more times to it's current location on the corner of Sheldon and Library where it has developed into a true destination location. Through the decades Milt and Ed forged many deep and lasting friendships with people from all walks of life- both gay and straight. They were also involved with many community organizations and are probably best known for their development of the annual Auction Against AIDS which raised much needed funds for groups such as The AIDS Resource Center, Hospice and other non-profits throughout the 1990s and beyond.”
To learn more about this couple who were true pioneers of our city’s transformation, be sure to read Terri Finch Hamilton’s
MLive Profile on Milt and Ed.
Photo: (left to right) Ed Ladner and Milt Lennox with their dog, Austin.