Clik here to view.
Chicago’s first out gay attorney, columnist and LGBTQ+ activist Ron Ehemann died Oct. 24 after a long battle with blood cancer. He was 74.
Ehemann was born Feb. 9, 1950, in Waukegan, and graduated from Waukegan Township High School, Northern Illinois University, the Northern Illinois Police Training Institute and in 1978, IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law.
Before Ehemann entered law school, he was a police officer for the Northern Illinois University Police and the City of Courtland Police and an Ogle County Sheriff’s Police Deputy.
While Ehemann was still a law student, he volunteered at the Barbara Beckman House (later called Horizons Community Services and now Center on Halsted) where he answered the phone helpline. In 1978, Ehemann made history when he became Chicago’s first out gay attorney, representing many of the city’s LGBTQ+ people, bars and organizations (that included Dugan’s Bistro, where he had a de facto law office so he could more easily meet with bar owner clients) and wrote a weekly Legally Speaking column for Gay Chicago Magazine.
Among Ehemann’s non-lawyer jobs were as a Broadway Limited waiter, barback and employee newsletter editor. He also did Ralph Paul Gernhart’s What’s Going On In Chicago daily phone recordings and was a Gay Chicago Magazine associate editor. In 1981, he and Erin Cris co-published Escape Magazine.
In 1982, Ehemann became a legal columnist and advisor for GayLife newspaper, where he met his life partner, the prolific Chicago businessperson, International Mr. Leather (IML) founder, Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) co-founder and LGBTQ+ activist Chuck Renslow (who died in 2017). Together, they co-founded the Greater Chicago Gay and Lesbian Democrats. Ehemann was also one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Business Association.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Additionally, Ehemann co-founded Organization to Promote Equality Now (OPEN) in the early 1980s with Cris, John Chester and Tim Drake. This became Illinois’ first LGBTQ+ political action party.
As an LGBTQ+ activist, Ehemann lobbied on behalf of LGBTQ+ equality measures to Illinois Gov. James Thompson for an anti-discrimination directive to be added to the Illinois Department of Personnel and in the Illinois state legislature to amend the state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act to include gay and lesbian people.
Ehemann was also instrumental in how the Chicago Police Department handled issues related to the LGBTQ+ community at the request of Police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek.
Another way Ehemann advocated for the LGBTQ+ community was through his numerous public appearances across the Midwest, where he appeared on national and local TV and radio shows and mainstream newspapers. He was also featured in the August 8, 1983, Newsweek Magazine issue titled Gay America: Sex, Politics and the Impact of AIDS.
Ehemann was appointed to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations by Mayor Jane Byrne. This marked the first time an out LGBTQ+ person was given a role on this commission.
In 1994, Ehemann and Renslow gained custody of a newborn named Robert Wilke, and in 2002 they also got custody of Wilke’s two-year-old half-brother Patrick Corcoran. They raised both boys with Ehemann as the primary stay-at-home parent.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Both Ehemann and Renslow managed the many businesses they owned, including LA&M (they bought the building and later donated it to the archives, along with much of their personal memorabilia) and IML, in which Ehemann served as a contestant host in its third year and producer for the next eight years.
Ehemann was a Mason for many decades and ran one of the organization’s charities. He was the primary planner and co-host of the Renslow Family’s August White Parties and hosted the final White Party, which served as Reslow’s memorial service. He also volunteered at the Night Ministry, where he handed out food to those in need.
To honor his achievements, he was inducted into Chicago’s LGBT Hall of Fame in 2020.
Ehemann is preceded in death by Renslow, his father John Ehemann, mothers Gleneth Ehemann and Mary Ehemann, brother Chuck (Risa) Ehemann, sister Mary Ellen (Dave) Brown and sister-in-law Stac (Sue) Woldt. He is survived by Wilke, Corcoran, sisters Kath Cramer and Sue (Stac) O’Brien, brothers John Paul (Deb) Ehemann and Phil (Carol) Ehemann, an abundance of loving nieces and nephews, his other life partner David Grooms and countless Renslow family members and friends.
Cramer said, “My brother Ron and I became brother and sister when I was in third grade and he was in seventh grade. His new family came from the south side of Chicago. His mom had passed and our parents had fallen in love. And for all of us, it could not have been a greater gift. All different. All equally loved. Our parents gifted us with the understanding that it’s who you love, who you care for, that is your family. Ron brought this love and beauty into his adult life. He loved his big, made for him family. We are all ever so blessed. Carry on dear brother.”
Good friend and Renslow family member Vicki Grooms: “I will forever remember all the fun we had on our RV trips,” said “Robert, Patrick, Mason, Rilee, Amber and Carlie. We sure had amazing adventures. With and without kids. We even got Chuck and David on an RV vacation with us. We have 33 years of memories that will last me the rest of my life. You will forever live in my heart. I love you Ron.”
David Grooms (Vicki Grooms’s husband): “We travelled together into extraordinary experiences with our loving family. Our journey isn’t over yet.”
Good friend Charlie Brown: “I met Ron when I bought the bar @mosphere. He was the sellers attorney. I told him afterwards that I only wanted to work with him in the future. That was 24 years ago. He referred to me as his telephone husband, as we talked every day for the last 10 years. Ron did a lot and gave a lot. He was kind and caring, giving and loving. Ron’s heart was so big, it should have had its own zip code. He will be missed for the love he gave to so many people. And he was so very much loved. Ron was one of the best people I have ever met.”
Good friend James Woodward: “To say that Ron was the most influential individual I knew would be an understatement. He always said it was his conviction to take care of the ‘misfits’ and ‘broken’ ones. They were the ones that needed the most. He never faulted to love unconditionally, and always made sure you were taken care of before him. He proved this countless times over the years through his works in the community, and through the dedication he showed to the ones he loved, which were many. I’m fortunate to have known him and to have called him family.”
Clik here to view.
Good friend and longtime LGBTQ+ activist Gary Chichester: “Ron was a man of many facets. His contributions to the LGBTQ+ community were incredible on all levels. His contributions to the Chicago organizations and to the city itself brought the change that made the community what it is today.”
Longtime friend and Heartland Alliance Health Northside Food Program Founder Lori Cannon: “I consider myself very fortunate to have been a close friend of Ron’s. We first connected in the early 80’s, when AIDS first hit Chicago, during those dark and deadly days. We became co-conspirators when Open Hand delivered their first meals and he remained on that 50 yard line ever since. He and Chuck, through their Masonic lodge affiliation, were responsible for endless fundraising efforts to assure that my low-income AIDS patients received their meals and later, groceries. Ron was tireless in creating funding opportunities for the HIV/AIDS and Leather communities. He was a selfless and quiet giant. These last years proved quite challenging for him, but as with everything in his life, he rose to the occasion with humility, brilliance, heart and grace. I will miss that moonbeam of a man.”
Longtime friend, LGBTQ+ historian and author Owen Keehnen: “The news of his passing was so jarring that it has taken a few days to process—probably because Ron was always so full of life. With an easy smile and calm demeanor, Ron was a man of concepts, ideas and hope. He had an enthusiasm for life matched by a deep love for family and friends. Ron connected with people. He cared about his community and did what he could to make the world a better place. Ron was a gentle hero and a great example of a well-lived life. He will be missed by so many. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Longtime friend Dean Ogren: “Ron was such a mentor in the leather community and you could always seek him out for live advice. I am sad to see him leave us. It is a reminder to me that time is fleeting, and that one must take the moments available to see and connect with those we love, and who have made connections with us on our journey. Ron was a social person, and no one was a stranger. To me he was friend, a confident, a true leader and a teacher. He was always up for good times with his friends and those who surrounded him.
“Ron, you were an inspiration to those around you of for what it meant to be kind and good, and caring, and to be your own person and not get caught in the weeds of life trying to tell you to be what you were not. Please give my regards to all those on the other side who have gone before us and save a space at the table for me and for the countless others whose lives you have touched.”
In a social media post, IML said, “We at IML were saddened to learn of Ron’s passing. His recovery had been going well but suddenly took a turn for the worse. As Chuck’s partner, Ron helped manage Chuck’s many business ventures, providing important support and legal assistance to IML in its early years.”
In a social media post, LA&M said, “All of us at LA&M were saddened by the news that Ron passed away yesterday. His recovery had been going well and just last week he took his first unassisted steps. Unfortunately he took a turn for the worse and died rather suddenly.
“Ron was very important to us as an individual and to our founding and operations. He worked tirelessly and often alone for queer rights here in Chicago … Prior to his cancer discovery, Ron was still quite active with us at LA&M, coming in often to work with our archivist and to ensure the preservation of Chicago’s leather history.”
Longtime friend Bruno Mondello: “Ron was truly a one of a kind person, that you only meet once in a lifetime. He was a sweetheart and a quality friend. Someone who genuinely cared about making a vested difference in everything that he did. Especially with regards to his community, family and friends. He was a pillar of the Greater Chicago Community and helped out whenever he could. Always remaining in the background and discrete, he was an unsung hero. We have now gained an incredible Angel. Ciao Ron, I am fortunate for having known you and you will be missed by many. With much love RIP my friend.”
Ehemann’s memorial service will take place Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at 1 p.m. at Jefferson Masonic Temple, 5418 W Gale St. in Chicago. It will be conducted by the Hesperia Lodge No. 411 brethren with the Most Worshipful Grand Master David P. Lynch presiding. The reception will also be held at the lodge. Everyone is welcome to join in this celebration of Ehemann’s life and legacy.
Additionally, a celebration of life will be held May 5, 2025, at noon at the Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence Ave. in Chicago. All are welcome to attend.
In lieu of flowers, Ehemann has asked that donations be made to the Illinois Masonic Outreach Services Program.
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