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Blog archive

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Wayne April - Member Connections

By Karen Bagnard
Posted: 01/06/2021
Tags: bios

- Karen Bagnard -

 

Wayne April was a volunteer with the Pasadena Village long before he became a member. His background in social work and hospice care have made him an invaluable component to our vibrant village. His journey from New Hampshire roots to Alaskan adventures to being an AIDS activist in the 80’s and eventually a partnership that brought him to Pasadena has resulted in a compassionate, bright and fun-loving member of our community.

 

Wayne was a quiet young man until he found his voice and became active in the gay rights movement during his college years at the University of New Hampshire. Seeing that, among the many clubs on campus, there was not a club for gays or lesbians, Wayne started one. “It’s a bit like starting a Village. We needed a community for us.” When the University sued to ban the group from campus, the ACLU took up the defense, and the court ruled in favor of the gay clubs. This was the first time, in 1974, that the courts declared that any school accepting federal funds must allow gays and lesbians to organize on campus. Wayne’s activism brought him into the spotlight of local and national news, putting pressure on him to come out to his family. The result was affirming and he continued to be a strong and vocal participant in justice.

 

After college he moved to Valdez, Alaska where he worked as a writer and then as the publisher of the local newspaper. He enjoyed the wild and beautiful country, made friends, and once again created a welcoming community by starting a gay organization in Anchorage. 

 

Wayne’s five years in Alaska were followed by AIDS activism in San Francisco during the 1980’s. It was the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and there was much fear and prejudice associated with the disease. Wayne began volunteering in the AIDS ward at San Francisco Hospital. Soon he was helping to raise money to purchase and renovate an old house to accommodate 10 people living, and dying, with AIDS. His efforts resulted in the establishment of the Richard Cohen Residence for AIDS patients, formerly Hope House, which is still in operation today. This experience taught him that he had a gift for helping people with end-of-life matters and was the impetus he needed to return to school to become a credentialed social worker.

 

Wayne went to work for Kaiser Permanente as a geriatric Social Worker, eventually transferring to Southern California with his partner, Jeff Gufstadt. Says Wayne, “I always enjoyed working with older people. People become more honest with age. When you slow down you feel things you didn’t before.” Wayne and Jeff settled in Pasadena where they live with an assortment of rescue dogs, many at the end of their lives.

 

Wayne’s background and his wisdom about patient care have been important assets to our Support Assessment Team. His love of hiking and dry sense of humor make him most enjoyable company, as well. We're fortunate that his long and winding road has led him to the Pasadena Village.

 

Wayne's video in Member Connections can be seen at here.

 

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