Local
Eddie Weingart, local massage therapist, dies at 39
Activist was former winner in annual Blade readers’ poll
Eddie Weingart (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Eddie Weingart, who had been a D.C.-based massage therapist and anti-gun violence advocate, died on Jan. 11. Weingart, who had been open about a lifelong battle with depression, committed suicide. He was 39.
Weingart was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, 1978 and lived in Southern California most of his life. He moved to the Washington area from Virginia Beach in early 2011 after two years living there.
Weingart worked as a massage therapist since 1998 and specialized in deep-tissue work, sports massage, Swedish massage, reflexology, reiki, tandem four-hand therapy, hot stones, trigger point work and more. He did house calls and worked in his own home studio.
He credited massage with helping him recover from a serious auto accident in 2001. He won the Washington Blade Best of Gay D.C. awards in the “best massage” category in 2013 and 2015; he was runner-up in 2014. At the time, he told the Blade he felt “incredibly honored to win.”
“I take my practice very seriously and my client’s wellness is always my top priority,” Weingart said in a 2015 Blade interview. “Winning again tells me that my hard work has paid off.”
Weingart battled depression and post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing at age 2 his mother shot and killed by his stepfather, an event his family said he remembered. He was raised by his father, Rocky, and his father’s partner, Bob.
In December 2012 after the Newtown, Conn., mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Weingart helped found Project End Gun Violence with David Jeffrey Horowitz and others.
“I can’t begin to imagine the pain he carried from that tragedy,” Horowitz said referring to Weingart’s mother’s murder. “He was committed to preventing others from experiencing pain due to gun violence despite the tragic impact it had on his own life.”
Horowitz called him a “gentle soul who touched many people” and “was a friend and co-warrior in the fight.”
Michael Eisinger met Weingart at a vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Dupont Circle in 2016 and said they became close friends immediately.
“One of the most selfless people I’ve ever met,” Eisinger said in a tribute to his friend on Facebook. “Always there to crack a joke, greet you with a giant smile and a hug and always, always, always there when you needed someone to talk to.”
Weingart was previously in a relationship with Paul Mills, also a massage therapist. They met in 2008, were engaged in 2012 and broke up in 2015. They lived together in Silver Spring, Md.
Weingart’s father was gay. Weingart was a caregiver to his late father and his father’s partner near the end of their lives, friends said.
Weingart enjoyed travel, collecting vinyl records, movies, reading, photography and meditation. He told the Blade seeing Madonna’s “Blond Ambition Tour” was a highly memorable experience. He was honored for his advocacy work with the “Be the Change” Award he won in 2013 from the Washington Peace Center.
He was also active in Dignity Washington, a local LGBT Roman Catholic group and had been on its board and in other Dignity committees. He traveled with the group attending various national conferences.
He was also a colon cancer survivor. He also loved pets, especially the dog and two cats he and Mills had.
He is survived by his grandmother, Joanna Weingart; uncles Michael and David Weingart; Aunt Mendi Shelton; cousins Wesley, Kenneth, Orion, Mathis, Amber, Payton, Landon, Austin, Vanessa and Brittney.
A memorial service is being planned but details were not available as of Wednesday.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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