By Tara Cavanaugh
John Di Donato is retired in name only.
"I didn't retire to sit and die," said the 66-year-old former teacher who officially retired in 2003. "I retired to have the time to do the things that I wanted to do."
What does he want to do? Make life better for the LGBT community – and he certainly has. Di Donato will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Pride Banquet and Awards Ceremony, which takes place on Thursday at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren.
"He's been behind a lot of organizations and kept them going on beyond. When other people gave up, he never did," friend Mary Wahlman said. "He's very deserving of the recognition."
"He's a human dynamo for gay causes," said John Malafouris, who has known Di Donato for more than 30 years. "He almost single-handedly created the Forum Foundation." The Forum Foundation has given scholarships to LGBT students since 1983. Di Donato has also worked for the Gay/Lesbian Educator's Association of Michigan, the Motor City Business Forum, the Living Well Conferences, the Human Rights Campaign and the Michigan Federation of Teachers. He's organized blanket drives for Higher Ground, teams for AIDS walks and donations for the Ruth Ellis Center.
The award has gotten Di Donato thinking about the achievements he's seen for the LGBT community over the years. As a veteran who was wounded in the Vietnam War, he's thrilled that President Obama signed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" last year. He was also happy to see so many young people at Motor City Pride in Hart Plaza earlier this month, especially because as a young person the only gay bars he could go to were in unsafe areas.
"I'm glad we've come as far as we have, but I still think we can't be so comfortable," he said. "We have to keep going."
He'd still like to see marriage equality, same-sex couples getting partner benefits just like straight couples and partner visitation rights in all hospitals.
"Another goal I would love to see is the gay community in Detroit come together," he said. "And that is why I love the Pride Award Banquet so much. It is one of the few times that several organizations within our community come together and help one another instead of compete with one another."
So what does the "human dynamo for gay causes" think about his Lifetime Achievement Award, especially when he shows no signs of stopping?
"When they told me I had this award I thought, I'm not old enough. This is not the end of my life," Di Donato said. "We need to think of ourselves as little ants. Every little grain that we carry is one more that's piled to do the job to get the job done."
