Arlene Halko Explained

Arlene Halko
Birth Date:April 15, 1933
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois
Death Place:Chicago, Illinois
Occupation:Medical physicist, gay rights advocate
Known For:Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame

Arlene A. Halko (April 15, 1933 – March 22, 2007) was an American medical physicist and gay rights advocate, based in Chicago. She was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1996.

Early life

Halko was born in Chicago,[1] the daughter of Peter Halko and Frances Maciejewski Halko. Her father was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia. She attended Visitation High School and Mundelein College. She completed doctoral studies in physics at the University of Rochester.[2]

Career

Halko was a medical physicist,[3] and was on the staffs at Michael Reese Hospital and Cook County Hospital, both in Chicago. She was Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Her research was published in academic journals. She was the first lesbian president of Dignity/Chicago, an organization of gay Catholics.[4] In 1985 she co-founded Chicago House, a social service agency assisting people with HIV/AIDS who needed housing, hospice care, and other supports.[5] From 1982 to 1989, she was a co-owner of Piggens Pub, a lesbian bar. In 2000, she and fellow activist Marie J. Kuda co-founded the Jeannette Howard Foster Memorial Sewing Circle and Book Club, dedicated to preserving Chicago lesbian history.[6]

Halko was named Woman of the Year by Gay Chicago Magazine in 1988; she was honored by the Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 1990. In 1996 she was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.

Publications

Personal life

Halko retired in 1993, and volunteered in an animal rescue in her later years, reuniting lost pets with their owners.[9] She had a leg amputation in 2006,[10] and she died from heart failure in 2007, aged 73 years, survived by her partner of 16 years, Patricia Keenan.[11] [12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ARLENE HALKO – Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. June 13, 2021. en-US.
  2. News: Jensen. Trevor. March 30, 2007. Co-Founded AIDS Residence. 2–12. Chicago Tribune. June 13, 2021. Newspapers.com.
  3. News: Kitch. Edward S.. June 19, 1956. She Finds What Makes Men Tick. 15. Orlando Evening Star. June 13, 2021. Newspapers.com.
  4. Web site: Cook. Michael J.. Personal memory of early Dignity in Chicago. live. June 13, 2021. Dignity/Chicago. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613185522/https://www.dignity-chicago.org/blog/memory . 2021-06-13 .
  5. Web site: Moment #01: September 9, 1985 – Chicago House is incorporated as a non-profit. June 13, 2021. Chicago House. 28 July 2020 . en-US.
  6. Book: Passet, Joanne. Sex Variant Woman: The Life of Jeanette Howard Foster. June 10, 2008. Hachette Books. 978-0-7867-2154-2. en.
  7. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_sdt=0%2C33&q=Arlene+Halko&btnG=
  8. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_sdt=0%2C33&q=Arlene+Halko&btnG=
  9. News: March 9, 2003. Shelters: Supply Exceeds Demand (continued). 13–7. Chicago Tribune. June 13, 2021. Newspapers.com.
  10. Web site: December 20, 2006. Halko Hospitalized. live. June 13, 2021. Windy City Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613185522/https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/Halko-Hospitalized/13509.html . 2021-06-13 .
  11. Web site: March 25, 2007. Arlene Halko Obituary. live. June 13, 2021. Chicago Sun-Times. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613185522/https://legacy.suntimes.com/amp/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/86913405 . 2021-06-13 .
  12. Web site: Patricia Keenan Obituary - Chicago, IL. June 13, 2021. Dignity Memorial. en.

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