JANUARY 28, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
7
OBITUARY
Mark Jerome Scott, 40
Mark Scott ended a courageous battle with the AIDS virus on January 13, 1994. During his fight with the disease, Mark demonstrated to his friends the ability to live among the increasing odds and declining health. He never lost his ability to remain an example to all he met.
Mark was born in Conneaut, Ohio, November 21, 1953, where he remained until moving to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He lived in Florida for many years until returning to Ohio almost two years ago when his health started to fail him.
While in Florida, Mark perfected his chosen occupation as a top notch waiter. He worked at many of the finest resort hotels including the Sheraton, Marriott and finally ending his working career at the Ritz-Carlton here in Cleveland. During his time in Florida and Cleveland, he was very fortunate to meet many stars of which he had photographs hanging on his walls.
Mark took such pride in his work that many people thought at times he was the manager of the hotels. He was an example of perfection in the way they were treated making sure their needs were handled to the credit of each establishment.
In his fight against his disease, he always made sure any visitors ate, even when he was no longer able to do so himself. He always kept in contact with his friends to make sure they were remaining in fine health, never dwelling on his own sickness.
Mark is survived by his mother, Betty Osborne; two sisters, Donna Menter and Debbie Kreiling; two brothers-in-law, Don and Bob; his niece, Tracy; nephew, Jon Michael; father, Richard; and step mother, Dorothy. He will also be remembered by many great friends both in Cleveland and
Florida. His memorial service was held January 16 at his home on Lake Avenue where he passed away.
For his family and friends, he wanted them to remember him through the following poem:
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on new blown
snow.
I am sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you waken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night. So do not stand at my grave and cry; I'm not there, I did not die. So go and be happy because I care. Go and be happy for I am there.
Join the Gay People's Chronicle for a night of theatre & community.
The 6th Annual Gay People's Chronicle Community Service Awards and a performance of Keith Curran's
Walking the Dead
at Cleveland Public Theatre Thursday, February 17 Doors Open at 7pm Award ceremony promptly at 7:30, show follows.
6415 Detroit Avenue
$10. in advance (mail check or money order made out to: GPC, P.O. Box 5426 Cleveland, Ohio 44101) $12 at the door.
Pro-gay Steffan ruling vacated
Continued from Page 1
a midshipman solely on the basis of his sexual orientation.
The administration's appeal asserted only that the three judges exceeded their authority when they ordered the Pentagon to commission Steffan as an officer.
But the appeals court, in an unsigned order, said a member of the court proposed that the entire case be reheard, and a majority of the court's members agreed. The judge who suggested an entire rehearing was not identified.
All three judges who ruled in Steffan's favor last November were appointed to the court by President Carter. The full circuit court is dominated by judges named by Republican presidents.
The full appellate court threw out the November ruling in anticipation of the new hearing.
Beatrice Dohrn, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said, "We're confident that when they examine the full merits, they'll uphold the original decision, because it was correct.
"The better thing would have been that they all agreed the decision had been so correct that it doesn't have to be reheard," she said.
Steffan, whose stellar performance at the Naval Academy won him an appointment as a battalion commander his senior year, was forced to resign in 1987-six weeks before his scheduled graduation in the top 10 percent of his class.
But the day after he told academy officials he was gay, his military performance grade was lowered from an A-minus to an F, his lawyer said.
The November ruling said the Navy's ban on declared gays was based on prejudice and served no legitimate purpose. It was the fifth court ruling in 1993 that or-
dered a gay in the military returned to service.
In filing an appeal that did not challenge the central holding, the Justice Department noted that the November ruling did not address the Pentagon's new "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
Under that policy, new recruits or service members will not be asked about their sexual orientation. The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits gay conduct.
Steffan, 29, now is a third-year law student at the University of Connecticut.
Also on January 7, the Clinton administration agreed to return another gay serviceman to active duty—at least temporarily— and said some others now on standby reserve status will be given the same option.
A federal judge approved an agreement that will allow the return to active duty of Navy Lt. j.g. Tracy Thorne, a naval aviator who revealed he is gay on television in 1992 to test the Pentagon's old ban on gays in the military.
Thorne is fighting his discharge. The agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin allows the Pentagon to act again to discharge Thorne under the government's new policy.
A memorandum written by Edwin Dorn, assistant secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the new "don't ask, don't tell" policy applies to discharge proceedings begun after February 5 of this year.
The secretary of each branch of military service also can decide to reconsider earlier discharge cases under the new policy, the memo said.
Those who are contesting their discharges and whose cases are being reconsidered under the new policy "should be given the option of returning to active duty or remaining in the standby reserve pending such reconsideration," Dorn's memo said.
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