Obituary
Local resident, sales manager Malek Zaarour dies at 72
Lebanese American beloved for his support and respect for others
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2023/09/Malek_Sleiman_Zaarour_obit_insert.jpg)
Malek Sleiman Zaarour, a native of Beirut, Lebanon who immigrated to the U.S. in 1991 to pursue degrees in business administration and accounting in the D.C. area before specializing in kitchen appliance sales, died on Aug. 23 from pancreatic cancer. He was 72.
His domestic partner, Alexei Michalenko, said Zaarour, who spoke Arabic, English, and French, spent his early years living in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and for a short time in Athens. Michalenko said his partner developed a keen understanding and respect for different cultures that drew the admiration of those he knew and befriended during his more than 20 years living in the D.C. area.
āFor me, he was a living example of what all people should be,ā said Michalenko. āDo unto others as you would have others do unto you. And that was the greatest thing about his openness,ā his partner said.
A write-up on Zaarour prepared by Michalenko says he was the sixth of nine siblings born in Beirut on Sept. 26, 1950. After graduating high school, he joined a government teaching program and earned a bachelorās degree in math at Beirut Science University, the write-up says.
It says he left Lebanon for Saudi Arabia in 1976 shortly after the start of the Lebanese civil war. In Saudi Arabia he worked as a sales manager for a Lebanese company that specialized in kitchen cabinets and appliances, the write up says.
After 13 years in Saudi Arabia, he returned to Lebanon for one year, according to his partnerās write up. He then spent three months in Athens, before immigrating to the United States in October 1991, the write-up says.
For the next several years, the write up says, Zaarour pursued degrees in business administration and accounting from Strayer University in Maryland while working for the Sears department store chain in the kitchen appliances department.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2023/09/Malek_Sleiman_Zaarour_obit_small_insert.png)
Under a U.S. immigration policy that considers someoneās sexual orientation as grounds for asylum due to possible persecution and danger if they return to their home country, Zaarour was granted asylum and became a U.S. citizen in October 2014, the write up says.
āMalek met his late partner, Thomas W. Wadlow, in September 1991,ā the write up continues. āThey formed a love partnership for 20 years, traveling to various places and beaches and entertaining guests until Thomasā passing on Oct. 28, 2011,ā it says.
āFive years later Malek met his current partner, Alexei Michalenko, with whom he shared seven and a half years of life, fun and travel,ā according to the write up. āAfter selling the house he shared with Thomas in S.E. Washington, Malek moved in with Alexei, sharing an apartment in Alexandria, Va.ā
The write up says Zaarour was diagnosed with bladder cancer in November 2019 for which he was successfully treated. But in October 2022 he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and suffered the āchallenging side-effects of chemotherapy, until deciding to cease further treatment and requested hospice palliative care until his death,ā the write up says.
Zaarour is survived by his partner, Alexei Michalenko; his sisters, Afaf, Souad, and Mariam; his brothers, Ameen and Khodr (Zeineb); several nephews and nieces among whom he was especially close ā Ali (Katrina), Mohamad, and Beleal, Ahmed and another Mohamad; and many friends in the U.S. and abroad.
The write up says final funeral arrangements were carried out through Islamic International Funeral Service, with prayers offered at the Islamic Guidance Center, also known as Ahlul Bayt Mosque, in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a burial held in Forest Green Park Cemetery in Morganville, N.J.
āMay Malekās memory continue to be a blessing to all who knew and loved him and whom he knew and loved,ā the write up concludes.
Obituary
Award-winning poet, Blade contributor Kathi Wolfe dies
āTireless in her pursuit of justice for queer disabled peopleā
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/Kathi_Wolfe_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key-1.jpg)
Longtime Washington Blade contributor Kathi Wolfe, an award-winning journalist and nationally recognized poet, died June 22 after a short battle with cancer. She was 71.
Wolfe worked in the early 2000s as a Blade news reporter and later left to pursue her interests in poetry. She remained a regular freelance contributor for more than 20 years; her favorite subjects to cover were book reviews and profiling prominent figures who are queer and disabled. Wolfe was honored last year by the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists with a Dateline Award for her story, āQueer, Crip and Here,ā a profile of Caitlin Hernandez, a queer writer and teacher who is blind. Wolfe was also legally blind and her disability motivated her to use her platforms to highlight the important contributions of disabled LGBTQ people.
Just a week ago, Wolfe was honored again by the SPJ as a finalist in the newspaper features category for a piece titled, āMeet one of the most powerful disabled people on the planet,ā a profile of queer author Eddie Ndopu.
Wolfe was born in Bridgeton, N.J., to Nancy and Fred Wolfe; her brother is David Wolfe. She attended Yale University where she earned a degree in divinity. She described her parents as Jewish-agnostic and said they loved Pope John 23 and Vatican II. āNow, Iām a hopeful agnostic,ā she once said. āI pray to God though Iām often angry or disbelieving of Her.ā
Wolfe came to Washington in 1991 to work at an advocacy center for people with disabilities. Her partner Anne died of cancer at age 46, a devastating event that inspired Wolfe to write again. She took classes at a writerās center in Bethesda and started going to open mics. Since then, she always identified as a poet.
āI like the concision and precision of poetry,ā she once said. āWhether you write in form or free verse, writing poems enables you to tell stories. ā¦ A good poet in a one-page poem or even a haiku can do what a fab novelist does in a 500-page novel.ā
A prolific writer, she published multiple books of poetry, including āThe Porpoise in the Pink Alcove,ā which won the 2024 William Meredith Book Award for Poetry; and āLove and Kumquats,ā her fourth book published in 2019 that features 80 of her works.
One review of āPorpoiseā on Amazon notes, āHer poems read like the screenplay of a life which has faced many challenges as a gay person in a homophobic world. Kathi faces these challenges with humor and courage, including all the details of a life that make us aware of who she is.ā
āMy work has a queer sensibility,ā Wolfe told the Blade in 2019. āItās what informs the pain, humor ā being an outsider, passion for justice ā that permeates many of my poems.ā When asked what professional achievement made her most proud, she replied, āA woman who was blind and queer emailed me. She said after reading my poetry, she felt better able to deal with homophobia and ableism.ā
Wolfe lived in Falls Church, Va., and enjoyed following the Nats and watching old Hollywood movies (āBette and Joan forever!,ā she used to say) in her free time.
When asked why she lived in the D.C. area for so long, Wolfe told the Blade, āPeople in the D.C. area are from all over the world. There are museums, restaurants with any type of food you can think of. We have the cherry blossoms!ā
āThe Blade will not be the same without her contributions, unique insights, and wit,ā said Blade editor Kevin Naff, who edited her work for more than 20 years. āI will miss Kathiās regular presence in my inbox, constantly pitching ideas for stories and op-eds. She was a hard worker and tireless in her pursuit of justice for queer people and visibility for disabled LGBTQ people.ā
A virtual celebration of life is planned for Saturday, July 6 at 5 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to share a poem or story about Wolfeās life via Zoom here.
Obituary
Johnny Randolph Hunt dies at 72
Known for his many years at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2022/11/candle_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
Johnny Randolph Hunt passed away quietly on May 27, 2024, after a well-fought battle against late-stage metastatic prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. He was 72.
Hunt was well known for his many years at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C., and for his artistic talents, where he used recycled junk mail to make whimsical masks and wall hangings known as Peculiars.
In high school, he was a top-performing cross-country runner, and he frequented Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway for long hikes and camping trips. Hunt was born on Feb. 15, 1952 to parents Janette Simshauser Hunt of Amherst, N.Y., and Melvin Hunt of Covesville, Va., both now deceased. He is survived by his husband of 45 years, Jeffrey David Miller and three sisters, Motanna Cason, Joyce Brown, and Shirley Shiflett, and one brother, Rocky Hunt, and a host of other relatives.
A celebration of life was held on Saturday, June 15. There will be follow-on services in Kinsale, Va., Charlottesville, Va., and Amherst, N.Y., which will be announced later. His favorite charities were Wounded Warriors, the Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation, Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and Habitat for Humanity. Donations in honor of Johnny should be directed to your charities of choice.
Obituary
Bruce Bastian, beloved LGBTQ philanthropist,Ā WordPerfect co-founder, dies at 76
Pioneering Utah software expert credited with supporting LGBTQ rights, performing arts
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/Bruce_Bastian_screen_capture_insert_via_Mormon_Stories_Podcast_YouTube.jpg)
Bruce Bastian, a successful Utah businessman and pioneering computer software developer who co-founded the word processing company WordPerfect before becoming a beloved philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to LGBTQ rights causes and the performing arts, passed away on June 16, according to an announcement by the LGBTQ organization Equality Utah.
āNo individual has had a greater impact on the lives of LGBTQ Utahns,ā Fox 13 TV News of Salt Lake City quoted Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams as saying. āEvery success our community has achieved over the past three decades can be traced directly back to Bruce,ā Williams was quoted as saying.
Fox 13 reported that Bastian co-created a word-processing program which later became WordPerfect as a graduate student at Brigham Young University with co-founder Alan Ashton, who was a Brigham Young computer science professor. The two developed the software under contract with the city of Orem, Utah, but they retained ownership of it, according to Fox 13.
āBruce was definitely a legend, running one of the most successful companies, and an out and proud gay individual,ā his friend David Parkinson said in a 2022 interview with Equality Utah, Fox 13 reports. āNot only does he give his money, but he gives his time, he gives his connections, he gives his knowledge, to help change Utah,ā Parkinson told Equality Utah, of which Bastian was a founding member.
Fox 13 reports that among the organizations to which Bastian was a generous supporter and financial donor were the Utah AIDS Foundation, Utahās Plan-B Theatre, the Utah Symphony and Opera and Ballet West, and the University of Utah.
A Wikipedia article on Bastianās life and career says that in 2003, he donated more than $1 million to the Human Rights Campaign, the nationās largest LGBTQ advocacy organization. It says he donated $1.7 million in 1997 for the renovation of the University of Utahās Kingsbury Hall, and in 2000 donated $1.3 million to support the universityās purchase of 55 Steinway pianos. The article says he also supported the universityās LGBTQ Resource Center on campus.
Both Fox 13 and Wikipedia report that in 2010 President Barack Obama appointed Bastian to the Presidential Advisory Committee of the Arts.
Wikipedia, citing the OUTWORDS archive, reports that Bastian was born March 23, 1948, in Twin Falls, Idaho, was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and served as a missionary in Italy. It says he received a bachelor’s degree in music and a masterās degree in computer science from Brigham Young University. As an undergraduate, he served as director of the universityās Cougar Marching Band, the article says.
It says Bastian married Melanie Laycock in 1976 and the couple had four sons before they divorced in 1993. It says Bastian later married Clint Ford.
āBruceās impact reached far beyond Utah, as a leading supporter of the national marriage equality movement, and a major benefactor and board member of the Human Rights Campaign,ā the Equality Utah statement says, as reported by Fox 13. āHe has been a rock and pillar for all of us,ā the statement continues.
āOur community owes more to Bruce than we can possibly express,ā it says. āWe send our love, gratitude and condolences to Bruceās wonderful husband Clint, and his friends and children.ā
In a statement released on Monday, HRC said Bastian joined the HRC board in 2003. It says the following year he joined fellow HRC board member Julie Johnson to serve as co-chair of āthe boardās successful effort to help defeat the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed amendment to the constitution that would have specified marriage as legal only between a man and a woman.ā
The HRC statement says Bastian passed away peacefully āsurrounded by his four sons, his husband, Clint Ford, and friends and other family members.ā The HRC and Equality Utah statements did not disclose a cause of death.
āWe are devastated to hear of the passing of Bruce Bastian, whose legacy will have an undeniably profound impact on the LGBTQ+ community for decades to come,ā said HRC President Kelley Robinson in the HRC statement. āBruce was in this fight, working at every level of politics and advocacy, for over four decades,ā Robinson said.Ā
āHe traveled all across this country on HRCās behalf and worked tirelessly to help build an inclusive organization where more people could be a part of this work,ā she said. āBruce stood up for every one of us and uplifted the beautiful diversity of our community,ā Robinson said. āItās the kind of legacy we should all be proud to propel forward.ā
The HRC statement says that in addition to his four sons, Bastian is survived by 14 grandchildren, two sisters, a brother, and numerous other extended family members.
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