Richard W. Pfeiffer

Richard William Pfeiffer was an American LGBT rights activist.^[1][2] He coordinated the Chicago Pride Parade for fifty years and contributed to gay activist organizations.

Biography

Pfieffer was born on May 14, 1949.^[3] Pfeiffer died October 6, 2019, at the age of 70.^[3] At the time of his death, he had been with husband Tim Frye for 48 years.^[4][5] Pfieffer's funeral was held at Drake & Son Funeral Home in West Edgewater.^[3][5]

Career

During his career, Pfeiffer was a volunteer marshal at Chicago Pride Parade from 1971 to 1973 and coordinated the parade from 1974 for fifty years until 2019.^[6][7][5]

As a student, he established Chicago city college's inaugural gay student organization, volunteered at Horizons Community Services (now Center on Halsted), and presided over the organization in the mid-1970s.^[8] Additionally, Pfeiffer founded the Gay Speaker's Bureau, which facilitated discussions on LGBTQ+ topics in educational and religious institutions, with Pfeiffer delivering up to six lectures per week at the organization's peak.^[8]

Pfeiffer wrote a monthly column for Chicago Gay Crusader newspaper from 1973 to 1975.^[9] He then wrote on a weekly basis for GayLife for three years until the late 1970s.^[9]

Pfeiffer's contributions included serving on the mayor's Advisory Council on gay and lesbian issues between 1985 and 1994 under three successive mayors.^[4][5] In 1993, he was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.^[9][6]

References