Michael Stivers, Gay-Rights Activist Who Fought Hard For Aids Cause

Michael Stivers lived life, his sister said, like a summer storm - the center of all attention.

"He drew people to him. He was usually broke, but on payday for Michael, everybody was rich," said Penny Tyrrell, Stivers' sister.

Good portions of Mr. Stivers' life were, indeed, like a storm - fast, furious and quickly spent.

Mr. Stivers, 37, of Port Orchard, died last week in Tacoma.

His death, like that of almost all AIDS victims, was slow, cruel and closely watched.

Mr. Stivers was diagnosed with HIV, the virus which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, six years ago.

The disease transformed his life from what he described as an indiscriminate feast of good times to a calculated attempt to caution others of the dangers that awaited anyone wanting to follow his lead.

Mr. Stivers was born in Ephrata, Grant County, in 1954 and moved with his family to the Kitsap Peninsula as a child. He graduated from South Kitsap High School and studied dance and drama at Evergreen State College and Olympia College.

He left both colleges without a degree and eventually hitch-hiked to Southern California, where he lived what he would later describe as a careless and carefree lifestyle.

He supported himself with odd jobs and small movie roles. He spent himself and his money on drugs and fun.

"I did everything I wanted. I thought I was immortal," Mr. Stivers told the Bremerton Sun last year.

He was not. He returned to the Puget Sound region in 1983, unable to rid himself of an ominous lethargy later diagnosed as HIV.

Mr. Stivers had "an ability to grow where he was planted," Tyrrell said. He quit using drugs, battled his disease and grew into one of the peninsula's foremost gay-rights activists.

"The disease completely consumed his life, but it didn't define who he was," Tyrrell said.

Mr. Stivers worked with AIDS task forces in both Kitsap and Pierce counties. He was a prominent and effective member of speakers' bureaus in both counties, talking to groups throughout the region.

Mr. Stivers never apologized for his life, Tyrrell said, and never felt that he should. AIDS isn't punishment, he said, it's a disease.

"Michael made a difference and knew he made a difference. It almost made it worthwhile that he had to go," Tyrrell said.

A memorial was scheduled at 2 p.m. today at Christ Church Episcopal in Tacoma. Memorial contributions are requested for either the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma or the Kitsap County AIDS Foundation.