Don Quaintance - The Outwords Archive

Don Quaintance at age 13, 1954-55. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

A high school graduation portrait of Don Quaintance, 1959. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance posing in his Navy uniform, 1964. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance and his first partner Bob, 1971. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance and his second partner Paul, 1993. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance during Lobby Day at the State Capitol, St. Paul, MN, 2006. He wears military fatigues while holding an American flag and a sign that reads, “A Vet Standing Up for Fairness, Equality, and Justice for ALL.” The sign’s border says, “A Stronger America.” Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don participating in the Duluth Superior Pride parade, supporting RAAN [Rural AIDS Action Network] and East Central Mens Circle, Duluth, MN, 2006. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

One of Don’s signs, that was carried to a Lobby Day, reads, “I Am American, I Am a Vet, and I Am Gay. I served to preserve the rights for all.” The sign’s border says, “A Stronger America” and has two pride flags and an American flag taped to it. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance, Lobby Day at the State Capitol, St. Paul, MN, 2007. He holds a sign that reads, “Families come in all forms.” Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance and Jeff at East Central Pride in the Park, St. Paul, MN, 2008. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance during Lobby Day at the State Capitol, St. Paul, MN, 2009. He holds a sign that reads, “Marriage is about love!” Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance manning the Men Circle Booth at D/S Pride, 2009. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance receiving a community award at the State Fair, Minnesota, 2011. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance at the Minnesota State Fair, where he later received the MC Community Award. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance at East Central MN Pride at Voyageur Park, Pine City, MN, 2012. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance at the State Capitol when Governor Mark Dayton signed the marriage amendment, St. Paul, MN, 2013. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

The signing of the marriage amendment at the State Capitol, St. Paul, MN, 2013. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance and his third partner Bill, 2016. Photo courtesy of Don Quaintance.

Don Quaintance was born in 1941 on a farm in Cherokee, Iowa. He was the oldest of eight children in a working-class family that moved frequently around Iowa and Minnesota. While still fully closeted, Don served in the Navy; but after his service ended in 1967, he moved in Minneapolis, and began his life as a gay man. For three decades, however, he never fully came out.

In 1999, Minnesota Senator Michelle Bachmann began a strident anti-gay campaign throughout the state. As a military veteran, Don felt he had as much, if not more of a right than Senator Bachmann to make his voice heard. He started marching and writing editorials as an out and proud military veteran. When Don’s picture ended up in the St. Paul and Minneapolis newspaper, Don was out for good.

By this point, Don was living in an area known as East Central Minnesota with his partner Paul. When Paul died in 1997, Don saw the need to help gay men in rural communities facing HIV/AIDS, and began volunteering with RAAN (the Rural AIDS Action Network). Then Don saw another glaring need. East Central Minnesota simply had no gay organizations at all. In 2000, with four friends, Don founded the East Central Minnesota Men’s Circle (ECMC). To this day, he serves as the group’s president & facilitator.

Five years into its existence, ECMC came up with the idea of inviting Minnesota’s entire rural LGBTQ community to a picnic. Each year now, along with the local PFLAG chapter and the Purple Circle (a lesbian group), the ECMC hosts the East Central Minnesota ‘Pride in the Park’ celebration, just the second rural Pride event in the U.S. Don is also proud to have participated in the campaign for marriage equality in Minnesota, which resulted in Minnesota being the first state in the Midwest to legalize same-sex marriage via legislation instead of a court order.

In March 2018, our OUTWORDS interview team navigated a rapidly intensifying snowstorm to reach Don’s home in Centerville, Minnesota. Don is a burly guy with a gravelly voice, but his home is warm and inviting, decorated with flowers, curios, native American art, and family photos. It was a pleasure to venture far off the beaten path to capture Don’s quietly powerful story, and to hear that late in life, after losing two partners, Don has found love for the third time.

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