James "Jimmy" Dorn was one of the original owners of the Your Place (YP) gay bar, located at 813 S. 1st Street in Milwaukee from 1965 to 1994. He was a regular at meetings of the Gay People's Union and a leader in 'BAM' (Business Association of Milwaukee, a consortium of gay bar owners).

Jim Dorn's niece, Kim S., shared Dorn's story on the Milwaukee LGBT History Facebook discussion page in 2016:

"My uncle was dishonorably discharged from the Navy in the early 1960's. I still have many of the letters he wrote to my grandmother when he first took to sea with his fellow sailors. He was moved to tears by the male voices in the Navy choir and so encouraged to be a part of something larger than himself.

"After the Navy wouldn't have him for reasons he could not control he returned to Milwaukee, met the love of his life and opened one of the first (openly) gay bars in the city. He called it Your Place so men making plans within earshot of their coworkers would not be ashamed to discuss the location where they would meet. The bar had no sign out front, just two blue lights beside the entrance. In later years it was known simply as YP and provided a safe haven for more young men than I could ever count. He was known as Mother Dorn to many generations of boys seeking only to live a life without persecution or fear."

Jim Dorn's story is recounted in this story on the OnMilwaukee website (written by Michail Takach, Curator of this Wisconsin LGBT History Project).

His Memoriam in "Wisconsin In Step', the local gay publication at the time, read as follows:

James "Jimmy" Dorn, one of the original owners in the 1960's of the YP (Your Place), a Gay bar at 813 S. 1st Street in Milwaukee, passed away after suffering a massive heart attack on August 17. He was 65 years old.

Dorn, a former beautician, opened the YP with his partner Jerry (Bentley) in about 1963. During the 1960's and '70's, the YP was a cocktail bar, sometimes featuring piano and other live entertainment. It was sold in 1988 to Uncle Al and sold again two years later to James Balistreri. It now features female strippers.

Mr. Z told In Step that he and Dorn were "dear friends for 40 years. We were sometimes competitive in business, but we never exchanged a bad word. He was a very loyal and good friend." Sharon Dixon, owner of Fannies, recalled Dorn as "a great guy. With Jim, his word or his handshake was as good as gold."

Chuck Balistreri, the manager of Club 219 who was a longtime friend of Dom, said: "I consider Jimmy to be one of the leaders of the community at that time [the 1960's and 70's]. He was a leader in our business association and attended Gay People's Union meetings."

Jim Dorn was the son of the late John and Lorraine Dorn. He is survived by his sister Shirley and many relatives and friends. Services were held August 21 at the Schaff Funeral Home, with a private interment at Highland Memorial Park.