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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2025 49 This month our selection for the Famous LGBT Americans series is Bruce Voeller, a biochemist, pioneer of AIDS research and gay rights activist. Voeller was born in 1934 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up in Roseburg, Oregon. He graduated from Reed College in 1956, was awarded a five-year fellowship to the Rockefeller Institute (now Rockefeller University), received a Ph.D. in biology, and became an associate professor at Rockefeller. Voeller married a woman, and they had three children. In 1964, Voeller came out as gay, and the couple divorced. Following his divorce, Voeller had to fight all the way to the United States Supreme Court to gain child visitation rights. This became a landmark decision for gay and lesbian parents and a life- changing experience for Voeller. He gave up his academic career to work for gay rights. Voeller helped found the National Gay Task Force (NGTF) in 1973 and served as its Executive Director from 1973 to 1978. Voeller's cultural impact inf luenced the removal of homosexuality as a mental disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Voeller left NGTF in 1978. He and his life partner, Richard Lucik, moved to California, where Voeller cofounded the Mariposa Education and Research Foundation. The organization was dedicated to the study of sexuality, homosexuality in particular, and sexually-transmitted diseases. In the early 1980s, Voeller returned to his scientific roots to study the new deadly illness affecting gay men and others. His research was focused on condoms and spermicides. He and the Mariposa Foundation conducted the first study establishing the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the spread of AIDS; the results were published in Consumer Reports. He also successfully proposed that the name of the illness be changed from Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID), which he considered stigmatizing and inaccurate, to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). He subsequently published many articles on HIV and AIDS and testified at Congressional hearings on AIDS. Voeller died from AIDS in 1994 at 59 years of age at his home in Topanga, California, in the presence of Lucik and Voeller's two sons, daughter, and sister. For more information and for the sources for this article, please go to the Rainbow Group's Facebook page or request a copy via our email (rainbowgroup@myyahoo.com). The locations and times of Rainbow Group events are available via our Facebook page or email. ~ Dan Hazeltine and Frank Galvan Rainbow Group Happy Holidays. It's that time of year again to relax and enjoy the Taste d'Vine Wine Club Holiday Party. I hope everyone has had a chance to get tickets. If you haven't purchased them yet, please reach out to Barbara Morton at (559) 269-0908. Our regular meeting is being replaced by our Holiday Party on Thursday, Dec. 18. The Steering Committee has been working hard to present another great party this year. Doors will open at 4:45 pm. No need to bring glasses, food or money. Everyone will receive a raff le ticket for the gift basket drawings throughout the evening. You will need to bring your favorite bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal, as no wine will be available at the tables. We will begin this elegant evening with sparkling wine and appetizers followed by dinner catered by Anne Taylor. Musical entertainment provided by Here 4 Now, a seven-piece band with two lead singers playing all the hits for your enjoyment. We will again have a photo booth by Mel Smith. It's been a pleasure to be your president this past year. Thank you to the Steering Committee for all the help and input in making this the great club it is. Finally, thank you to all our members. It is your club, the comments and participation this year from our members have been wonderful. If you have any ideas for future wines or topics, please call or email me. ~ Tom DePaola, tomdepaola@roadrunner.com, (714) 404-1956 Taste d'Vine

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