News
John F. Aloi dies at 78
Floral designer serviced celebrity clients

Anthony John F. Aloi, a longtime Washington-area floral designer, died at the Williams House hospice of the Washington Home on June 9 of kidney failure and complications from prostate cancer, according to his partner, John Bekeny. He was 78.
Aloi, born Feb. 20, 1938, was a native Washingtonian and lifelong resident, having been born at the old Providence Hospital. In floral design, he worked for the Kelsey, Dove, Palace, Friendship, York and Caruso flower shops. His plant maintenance business serviced clients including the National Football League Players Association, the National Catholic Educational Association, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Mathematical Association of America.
Prior to entering the floral design industry, he worked for Mitchell Construction on the D.C. Stadium and Central Intelligence Agency headquarters building projects. When he learned the next project was to be the Rayburn Office Building, he decided that he didnāt want to work construction during another winter and answered an ad for a florist trainee. In the years that followed, he did the flowers for the weddings of scores of Washingtonians and also did flowers for prominent residents of the time, including Elizabeth Taylor and Lynda Carter.
He volunteered his floral design services for many years, first at St. Matthewās Cathedral and for the past 15 years at Immaculate Conception Church. Years earlier, he volunteered floral design services to help decorate the White House for the holidays.
In January 2014, he received an official apostolic blessing from Pope Francis. Recently he was honored to be selected by the Order of Malta to journey to the prominent Catholic pilgrimage site of Lourdes, France, from which he returned in May 2016.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Marines.
Aloi was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, where he provided continuing support to others in the fellowship.Ā He celebrated his 31st anniversary of sobriety on June 3, 2016, while in Williams House.
He is survived by his partner of 31 years, John Bekeny of Washington, his brother Ross Trimarchi of Navarre, Fla., and sisters Victoria Hull of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., and Jean Winchester of Bowie, Md., as well as four nieces, two nephews, and 17 cousins.
A funeral was held in June.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
āFāā Donald Trump and fāā the Kennedy Center,ā a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Operaās Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nationās leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw
School teacher, D.C. resident praised for āwarmth, humor, kindnessā

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.
Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shawās friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.
āPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā Martinez said. āHe was a truly special soul ā funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā
In an Instagram posting, Shawās colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.ās Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.
āPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā his colleagues said in their posting. āHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā
The posted message adds, āPatrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.ā
The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon.
Kenya
Kenya Red Cross-owned hotel to host anti-LGBTQ conference
Speakers from US, European countries to participate in May 12-17 gathering

Plans to host a family values meeting next month in a 5-star hotel in Nairobi that the Kenya Red Cross Society co-owns have sparked an uproar among local queer rights groups.
The groups accuse the Kenya Red Cross of violating its Global Fund commitment of protecting key populations by allowing its Boma Hotel to host an āanti-gender and anti-LGBTQā conference.
Influential guest speakers from the U.S., the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland will preside over the Pan-African Conference on Family Values that will take place from May 12-17. The Kenyan advocacy groups say these speakersā organizations are globally recognized for undermining LGBTQ rights.
āAs the principal recipient of Global Fund in Kenya, hosting this event contradicts (the) Red Crossās humanitarian mission and threatens the safety and dignity of people living with HIV, women and LGBTQ+ individuals, the communities that Kenya Red Cross Society has long committed to supporting,ā the queer rights groups state.
The LGBTQ groups that have criticized the Kenya Red Cross include Upinde Advocates for Inclusion, the Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, and Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya. They have also launched an online signature collection drive to compel the Kenya Red Cross to withdraw the hotel from hosting the āPromoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Timesā-themed conference.
āThe eventās so-called ‘family values’ narrative is a smokescreen for policies that push hateful legislation and promote death, discrimination, femicide, gender-based violence, and restrict fundamental freedoms across Africa,ā the groups said.
The pro-life Western organizations that are scheduled to participate in the conference include Family Watch International from the U.S., CitizenGo from Spain, the Ordo Luris Institute from Poland, Christian Council International from the Netherlands, the New York-based Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), and the Foundation for American Cultural Heritage. Their local counterparts include the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, the Africa Christian Professionals Forum, and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya.
C-FAM President Austin Ruse; Family Research Council Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Travis Wever; Global Life Campaign Executive Director Thomas W. Jacobson; and the Rev. Ricky Chelette, executive director of Living Hope Ministries, Inc., and president of the Institute of Biblical Sexuality are among the U.S. guest speakers. Other participants include Henk Jan van Schthorst, president of Christian Council Internationalās board of directors, Ordo Luris Institute President Jerzy Kwasniewskie and his colleague, Rafal Dorosinski, director of the groupās Legal Analysis Center.Ā
The Kenyan groups through their online petition ā āTell Red Cross Kenya Not to Give Hate a Platformā ā has so far raised more than 1,000 of the 10,000 signatures they hope to collect. The petition is addressed to Red Cross Kenya Secretary-General Ahmed Idris and his predecessor, Abbas Gullet, who is the hotelās director.
āWe call on you to immediately cancel this booking and publicly reaffirm Red Crossā commitment to human rights, health and inclusivity,ā the petition reads. āFailure to act will raise concerns about whether (the) Red Cross can still be trusted by the community to lead with empathy and fight for their rights.ā
The Kenya Red Cross, however, maintains the Boma Hotel is a separate entity, even though public records indicate it is one of the facilityās shareholders.
The LGBTQ groups note the hotel should be a safe space that promotes inclusion, not platforms that enable āharmful gatheringā for hate and exclusion by ādangerous groups.ā
āBy providing a venue for this event, Red Cross directly enables a platform for hate and discrimination ā a stark contradiction to the values of inclusivity, humanity, and nondiscrimination that the organization claims to uphold,ā they said. Ā
The organizations further warn that proceeding to host the conference threatens the relationship between the Red Cross and the marginalized communities who have long depended on the humanitarian organization for support and protection. CitizenGo has nonetheless criticized the LGBTQ groups, which it describes as āradical activist groupsā for ātrying to silence a pro-family eventā and asked the Kenya Red Cross and the Boma Hotel not to back down.
āThese groups are calling the event ‘hateful’ because it affirms the natural family ā marriage between a man and a woman ā and the dignity of every human life, including the unborn,ā Ann Kioko, the groupās campaign director for Africa and the U.N., said.
Through an online counter signature collection drive, Kioko holds CitizenGo and other groups wonāt be intimidated, silenced or apologize to the queer rights groups for defending āour families, our faith and our futureā.
āThe real goal of these foreign-funded activist groups is to impose LGBTQ and gender ideologies on Africa ā ideologies that have led elsewhere to the confusion of children, the breakdown of family structures and the rise of sexual libertinism that results in abortion, STIs and lifelong emotional and psychological trauma,ā Kioko stated.
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