This week's announcements include Jim Skeen and Ken Avery; Simon Karlinsky and Peter Carleton; and Kevin McLaughlin and Kevin Cox.
Jim Skeen Jr. and Ken Avery
Jim Skeen Jr. and Ken Avery were legally married on Tuesday, October 21, at City Hall in San Francisco. The marriage ceremony occurred 27 years after the couple met in San Francisco in 1981 and 16 years after their formal commitment ceremony of May 23, 1992. Present at the civil ceremony were Mr. Avery's mother, sister, brother-in-law, and a dozen other close friends. After the wedding, the entire wedding party enjoyed a luncheon at Absinthe Restaurant.
Mr. Avery, 62, was born and raised in Texas and Oklahoma and lived in Minneapolis for many years before moving to San Francisco with Mr. Skeen in 1984. Mr. Avery was a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines for 25 years, retiring five years ago. Since then, he has been an enthusiastic volunteer at Under One Roof in the Castro.
Mr. Skeen, 57, was born and raised in Seattle and lived for four years in Washington, D.C. Mr. Skeen worked in high tech in Silicon Valley until 1999, when he left to become an adult school teacher. He currently teaches at Sequoia Adult School in Redwood City and has a small computer consulting business.
The couple has happily resided in Glen Park for many years with their two felines, Cleo and Nico.
Simon Karlinsky and Peter Carleton
Simon Karlinsky and Peter Vail Carleton were married in a small, private ceremony in Oakland at the Alameda County Recorder's office at 4 p.m., October 21, 2008. Mr. Karlinsky's longtime friend, Dick Dillingham, and Mr. Carleton's longtime friend, Lili Shidlovski, were witnesses. Commissioner Leticia Dologmandin officiated.
Mr. Karlinsky, 84, is professor emeritus of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of California, Berkeley. His interests center on Anton Chekhov and Vladimir Nabokov, and he pioneered the scholarly examination of homosexuality in the lives and writings of Nicolai Gogol and Marina Tsvetaeva. He wrote about Russian gay literature and culture for Gay Sunshine and Christopher Street.
Mr. Carleton, 68, was a private humanistic counselor working with gay men in San Francisco, starting in the early 1970s. Since retiring, he has been fascinated with how we understand the self in terms of spatial metaphor, and he maintains a Web site on that subject at http://www.metaself.org.
Mr. Karlinsky and Mr. Carleton met in 1974. For many years, they divided their time between Mr. Karlinsky's residence in Kensington and Mr. Carleton's in San Francisco. The couple now live together in Kensington.
Kevin McLaughlin and Kevin Cox
Kevin John McLaughlin and Kevin Lee Cox were joyously married in a very heartfelt ceremony performed by Justice Cathryn Jenkins in the beautiful and historic San Francisco City Hall rotunda at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 25. The couple was surrounded by close friends, including Sandee McLaughlin, Mr. McLaughlin's sister, and her partner JoAnn Chavez. The wedding was followed by brunch at Stacks, owned by dear friend Geoffery Swenson.
Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Cox met on Gay.com after corresponding prolifically for months. They finally agreed to meet five and a half years ago at the Red Grill, closing the restaurant with conversation and wine and never leaving each other's side since.
No strangers to commitment, both men had been readjusting from relationships lasting over 15 years. Surviving many health issues that would challenge others has only strengthened theirs.
Mr. Cox, 53, was born in and spent his childhood in the sleepy fishing village of Darien, Georgia. He is the son of Theodore Lloyd Cox and Martha Edenfield Cox. He attended high school in Milpitas, California and later served in the U.S. Coast Guard, based mostly in Honolulu.
Mr. McLaughlin, 54, is the son of John McLaughlin and Dolores Emigh. He was raised in Santa Ynez, California, and was heavily involved in 4-H leadership, which he attributes to his love of animals. He went to Santa Ynez High and had tech schooling in Colorado before starting a business in Washington. He moved to the Bay Area to start a business in Los Altos in 1974, leaving for Bell and Howell Corp. He retired as the national accounts manager due to AIDS in 1986. He volunteers for numerous HIV groups and drug trials, and has called the Bay Area his home for over 35 years.
"We wanted to say how proud we are that Gavin Newsom fought so hard for our right to have our amazing day together in the great city," the couple said.