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Priest, Dignity Washington fundraiser David Pichette dies at 81

‘Generously shared his time, resources and spiritual gifts’

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2 years ago

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David Pichette, an ordained Roman Catholic priest who friends say transitioned to become a grant writer for nonprofit organizations and who for many years became involved with the LGBTQ Catholic organizations Dignity Washington and Dignity Northern Virginia, died June 27 from complications associated with pancreatic cancer at a hospice in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was 81.

A write-up about Pichette’s life published in the Dignity Washington Bulletin and prepared by Dignity Washington Vice President Peter Edwards says that among Pichette’s activities related to the two Dignity groups was to celebrate Sunday mass for the groups’ members in his role as a priest.

The Dignity Washington write-up says Pichette and his life partner, Gene Vollmer, were also beloved, active members of the D.C.-based Catholic group Communitas. 

“Dave generously shared his time, resources and spiritual gifts for nearly twenty years, joining in community liturgies, socials, and retreats,” Edwards’ write-up says about Pichette’s involvement with the Dignity groups and Communitas.

“Workwise, Dave transitioned to being a nonprofit professional specializing in grant writing for nonprofit organizations,” according to the write-up. “Over the years, he assisted many smaller nonprofits in obtaining grants to continue their mission. Dave’s strong work ethic continued his effort to help several nonprofits right until he entered the hospital,” Edwards says in his write-up.

“Dave was instrumental in helping Dignity Washington with several fundraising drives,” the write-up says. “The most successful effort raised money to pay off the Dignity Center mortgage and put the overall Dignity Washington finances on a sound footing.”

Among those who point to Pichette’s support for LGBTQ Catholics and for the LGBTQ community are Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, the Mount Rainier, Md., based national group that advocates for LGBTQ Catholics, and Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry’s current executive director. 

“I admired Dave’s incredible grasp of history, his deep involvement in the life of the church, and his sense of responsibility as a citizen,” Gramick said. “Even more, I appreciated his sense of fairness and justice for all,” she said. “Of course, he was especially concerned about the rights of LGBT people, and he will be sorely missed by those who knew him,” Gramick told the Blade. 

DeBernardo called Pichette a “great priest,” among other things, because of his friendliness and his understanding of people’s pain and suffering from his own experiences.

“He knew that the greatest thing that gay people needed from the church was affirmation of their identities,” DeBernardo said. “And he knew that the greatest thing that the church needed from gay people was their forgiveness.” 

In his write-up on Pichette for the Dignity Washington Bulletin, Edwards says Pichette and his partner Vollmer moved to Miami around the time of Pichette’s retirement, but that the two made annual summer visits to the D.C. area and to a cabin the two had bought in West Virginia.

“During their annual trips north, they would frequently travel in from West Virginia to attend Mass at both Dignity Washington and Dignity Northern Virginia,” Edwards wrote. “Dave was a radiant and energetic person, with words of cheer and humor and good will toward everyone.” 

Edwards’ write-up says that Pichette’s partner Vollmer preceded Pichette in death. The write-up says a funeral Mass for Pichette was held on July 9 at Holy Redeemer Church in the Liberty City section of Miami. A burial was scheduled to take place at a family plot in upstate New York, where Pichette was born and raised, on Aug. 5. 

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Obituary

George Jackson, dance critic and author, dies at 92

Longtime D.C. resident served as career scientist with U.S. government

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2 months ago

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August 21, 2024

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George Jackson (Courtesy photo)

Longtime D.C. resident George Jackson, a highly acclaimed dance critic and dance historian who wrote dance reviews for publications including the New York Times and the Washington Post — all while working in his day job as a microbiologist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — died Aug. 5 of natural causes at the age of 92.

Friends said he passed away peacefully in his sleep in New York City, where he recently moved to be close to his husband and partner of many years, dance photographer Costas Cacaroukas, who shared Jackson’s intense interest in the performing art of dance, especially ballet.

Biographical write-ups on Jackson show he was born in Vienna, Austria, on Dec. 10, 1931, and placed on a train by his parents in 1938 at the age of 7 and sent to London to be with cousins to escape the Nazi invasion of Austria as a member of a Jewish family. His birth name was Hans Georg Jakobowicz, which he later Americanized to George Jackson.

He was reunited with his parents, and the family moved to Chicago, where he grew up and saw his first dance performance at the age of 14 “and fell in love with the art form,” according to a 2021 tribute to Jackson by the publication Dance View Times. It says Jackson continued to patronize dance performances and later became a student at the University of Chicago, where he studied microbiology and became a microbiologist.

In a December 2011 interview with the Washington City Paper, Jackson said he took ballet lessons before starting his studies at the University of Chicago. He said the editor of the student newspaper had heard he was interested in dance and asked him to write dance reviews for the paper. “That’s how I got started,” he told the City Paper.

Jackson said in the interview that he moved to Washington “because a very good job opened with the Food and Drug Administration,” where he soon began work as a food parasitologist, which was his specialty.

He said around that time he was writing dance reviews for the publications Dance News and Dance magazine before both the Washington Post and then Washington Star invited him to do dance reviews. He said he began doing reviews first for the Star, which has since gone out of business, and then for the Post.

Although he started doing dance reviews in D.C. around 1972, Jackson told the City Paper he wrote his first review in 1950. Since then, according to a write-up by fellow dance critic and author Alastair Macaulay, Jackson’s reviews as well as essays about dance, have appeared in multiple publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Dance View, Dance Magazine, Dance Now, the German magazine Balliett, “and many others.”

The Dance View Times tribute to Jackson says, “He used his scientist’s eye and analytical mind to comment on what he saw but his writing is vivid, descriptive as well as analytical.”

In his Washington City Paper interview in December 2011, Jackson announced he was retiring as a dance critic at that time at the age of 80. But he said he was not about to stop writing.

To the delight of many of his followers, Jackson went on to write two historic novels, one in 2014 called “King of Jerusalem,” a fictional account of the life of Otto von Habsburg, the last crown prince of Austria-Hungry and heir to the ancient title of King of Jerusalem. The second novel, published in 2018, “Burn Berlin, Burn,” is a fictional mystery account of who the arsonist was in the 1933 burning of the Reichstag parliament building in Berlin at the time of the Nazi takeover of Germany.

Both books, in paperback and that remain available through Amazon, bear the name of Hans Georg Jakobowicz, Jackson’s birth name, as the author.

“Many of us also knew George as a figure of great courtesy,” fellow dance critic and author Macauley says in his Aug. 14. tribute to Jackson. “He never seemed to proclaim the importance of his opinions, but he was eager to share enthusiasm and information, historical information not the least.”  

Jackson is survived by his husband Costas Cacaroukas of New York and many friends in Washington, across the nation, and in Europe. No immediate plans have been announced for a memorial service or celebration of life.

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Obituary

D.C. theater community mourns passing of H. Lee Gable

Served as director, producer, administrator for more than three decades

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2 months ago

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August 21, 2024

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(Courtesy photo)

H. Lee Gable, a well-known figure in the D.C. theater community for more than 30 years and was the founding Artistic Director of D.C.’s Rainbow Theatre Project, died suddenly on July 26, 2024, according to a statement released by Rainbow Theatre Project publicist Alexandra Nowicki.

The statement says Gable, 62, served as artistic director for the Rainbow Theatre Project from the time of its founding in 2013 to 2022. The project describes itself on its website as a “premier theatre for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) community in the Nation’s Capital by presenting plays and musicals that reflect the unique experiences, interests and history of the LGBTQ community.”

According to the statement, Gable’s longstanding involvement in theatrical endeavors includes administrative positions with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Washington Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, the Studio Theatre, and the Helen Hayes Awards.

It says he served as Founding Artistic Director for the Phoenix Theatre from 1998 to 2000, and as Director for the Washington Shakespeare Company from 2004 to 2006. He also served as Managing Director for the Washington Shakespeare Company for its 2006 to 2007 season, where he directed the plays “The Night of the Iguana,” “The Children’s Hour,” and “Private Lives,” the statement says.

For the Phoenix Theater, Gable directed the plays “Inside/Out,” “The White House Murder Case,” and “3 by Sylvia.” As if that were not enough, it says he directed the plays “God of Hell” for the Didactic Theatre and “Ballycastle” for the Source Theatre Festival.

It adds that for the Rainbow Theatre Project, Gable directed the plays “Get Used To It” and “In The Closet.”

The statement says at the time of his death, Gable was serving as a treasurer for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It says a memorial service is being planned for this autumn. 

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Obituary

Gay baseball trailblazer Billy Bean dead at 60

MLB executive was last living former pro player to have come out

Published

2 months ago

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August 7, 2024

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Billy Bean threw out the first pitch at the Night Out at the Orioles in Baltimore on June 12, 2019. Bean died on Aug. 6, 2024, at the age of 60. (Washington Blade photo by Kevin Majoros)

He achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a major league baseball player at 23, but Billy Bean gave it all up at 31 because he fell in love with another man. Bean, MLB’s senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, died at home in New York on Tuesday after an 11-month-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Major League Baseball announced his death.

Bean was 60, and leaves a husband, Greg Baker.

Bean did not come out publicly until he left the game, in 1999, following an article in the Miami Herald that outed him. That led to even bigger stories in the New York Times and television interviews about being a closeted athlete. He wrote a book, “Going the Other Way.” For decades, Bean was the only living former baseball player to have come out as gay, following Glenn Burke.

Four years ago, Bean recorded an emotional video about coming out and how baseball has changed, titled “Dear Glenn Burke: A Letter from Billy Bean.”

However, the biggest impact Bean had on the game and on all professional sports came in 2014, when he was hired by former Commissioner Bud Selig to be MLB’s first ambassador for inclusion. He spent more than 10 years working for MLB, eventually being promoted to senior vice president.

Bean worked with pro baseball players and their clubs to, in his words, “advance equality for all players, coaches, managers, umpires, employees, and stakeholders throughout baseball to ensure an equitable, inclusive, and supportive workplace for everyone.”

The California native’s athletic career started as a two-time All-American outfielder at Loyola Marymount, then Bean played six seasons of pro ball. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1985, but returned to Loyola for his senior year, leading the team to the NCAA Men’s College World Series.

The Detroit Tigers drafted him the following year, and Bean made his debut in 1987 with a four-hit performance that tied a record for a player in his first game. Bean went on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres, in Japan as well as in the minor leagues.

But he hung up his mitt in 1995, when the lefty outfielder — who at that time was married to a woman — lost his first partner, Sam. He died of HIV-related causes in Bean’s final season. They had fallen in love on a road trip in Miami.

That 1999 Miami Herald article that outed him was a review of the restaurant he co-owned with his partner at that time. He had already told his parents in 1996, but Bean once told the LGBTQ sports site Outsports he still regretted ending his career in the closet.

“If I had only told my parents, I probably would have played two or three more years and understood that I could come out a step at a time, not have to do it in front of a microphone. And I was completely misguided. I had no mentor. I think that’s where the responsibility comes in for people who have lived that experience, and we take for granted that everybody’s adjusted and gets it. I had no one to confide in and that was the biggest mistake of my professional life was to think that if one person knew, everybody knew.

Just having some kind of ally at that time, I think I would have changed and I think I would have played so much better. You can appreciate the degree of despair when you’re hiding something and you’re on the bubble as it is. It just was a really frustrating time for me.”

At MLB, Bean led the charge for baseball teams to hold Pride nights, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The beginning of Pride month alongside fans returning to our MLB ballparks is tremendously exciting,” Bean told the Los Angeles Blade in June 2021.  “The past year has been difficult for everyone, and I am so appreciative that our clubs are able to reach out and support the LGBTQ community in such a positive way.”

The league, baseball teams, his alma mater and LGBTQ advocates and allies posted remembrances and tributes to Bean on social media following news of his passing.

Funeral arrangements were not announced as of press time.

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