Jim Dohr, a gay-rights activist who was very active in the leather scene, has passed away. He was 59.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Dohr was the loving brother of Carol ( Thomas ) Judd, Nancy ( the late Bradford W. Smith ) Kalck and Diana ( Paulo ) Wildner; devoted uncle to Matthew and David Judd, Natalie ( Ryan ) Ware, Joseph ( Tracy ) Kalck, Faith and Hope Wildner; dearest cousin of Wally Kadlubowski; cherished friend of many. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alice ( Morey ) Ross and Heinz ( Marilyn ) Dohr.
Dohr worked at the Chicago Department of Health as director of administrative services.
In the archives of the now-defunct gay newspaper Outlines, Dohr talked about the first gay bar he visited: "I believe it was one of three bars, either Ruthie's, Shari's, or the old Annex, which were all on Clark Street. The Annex was approximately where the Lakeview Health Clinic is now.
"That had to be the summer of '69. I came out earlier that year on a train going down to Southern Illinois University. On the train I met some people I knew from the same dormitory, and one of them pulled out a porn magazine. Needless to say I got instantly hard and everybody said, 'Oh yeah, you're gay.' I kind of knew I was gay already, but I didn't know there was a whole world of people out there."
Longtime friend Gary Chichester e-mailed Windy City Times, "Jim Dohr and I [ had ] been friends for almost 35 years. We 'grew up' together both managing the Gold Coast Bar and producing International Mr. Leather. Jim loved to travel and one of my fondest memories is of him and I doing our "Thelma and Louise" down to Florida. What a trip that was! We took the time to do what ever we wanted, from the Great Smoky Mountains to Disney World and everything in between.
"I could always count on Jim for being a true friend without pretension or animosity. Jim would always tell it like it is.
"I will deeply miss Jim Dohr."
Family and friends are invited to a celebration of Jim's life Sunday, May 2, at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, at 3 p.m. Contributions to one of Dohr's favorite charities in his memory would be appreciated: www.opendoorclinic.org or www.vitalbridges.org .