Reverend Erwin A. Uecker (known to everyone in Milwaukee as simply "Erv Uecker") was half of the couple known around Milwaukee as "Erv and Ross", referring to his nearly 67-year partner Ross Walker.

(The following write-up of the couple is summarized from "Our Village Elders" article, Wisconsin Light, volume 12 issue 14, March 12, 1999; written by Bill Meunier.)

Ross Walker and Erv Uecker met in June, 1957 through a mutual friend. It wasn't love at first sight. "We were friends at first sight," said Erv. They say "we are still friends" 40-plus years later.

Perhaps that's the key to a relationship which has taken them from a Lutheran parsonage in Chicago to a horse breeding farm and finally to Milwaukee, where they are instrumental in keeping the BESTD Clinic operating.

Erv said he is a "recovering Lutheran." He was ordained as a Lutheran Minister in 1968. For ten years, he was the Pastor at Chicago's St. Lukes' Lutheran Church where he directed a staff of four associate pastors.

Although the church was in a middle class, blue-collar neighborhood, the couple lived together in the parsonage. "Everybody did what they had to do to deal with it," said Erv. Ross addded, "Some people thought we were brothers until both our mothers showed up at church one day." Meanwhile, Ross was a special education teacher in the Chicago School System.

The two also bought a horse-breeding farm in Oxford, Wisconsin. They bred horses there for about 12 years before selling it. But it was not their idea of retirement: "Who wants to shovel horse dung all day?", asks Ross.

In 1983, the couple stopped in Milwaukee on their way to sell a property. "We were going to retire at Marco Island in Florida," said Ross. But "we met some friends in Milwaukee. We decided we didn't need Florida."

That fateful decision was Milwaukee's gain. Ross and Erv got involved in the BESTD Clinic. They worked full time- without pay- for the Clinic. Erv said he likes the structure of BESTD. "Everybody works. Our Board consists of active volunteers."

Ross and Erv were also instrumental in the founding of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. In addition to activism and personal time involvement, they provided the initial money by making a long-term pledge of over $100,000 toward rent and operating costs of a true community center.

In addition to holding various roles in the BESTD Clinic operations over the years (including Secretary and Treasurer, and the BESTD Live! weekly telecast), and their financial support to get Milwaukee an LGBT Community Center, Erv was also active in various other neighborhood and community-wide programs. These included the New Brady Street Area Association (NBSAA), the Milw. County Commission on Aging's work group to increase access to services for gay and lesbian elderly, sponsoring a City Hall rotunda reception for LGBT Couples, and support for Pridefest.

As of May 2005, Erv and Ross resided in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, and continued to be actively involved in the BESTD Clinic. (The BESTD Clinic was still totally volunteer, with no paid staff.) They were also consistently accounted for in numerous other community events and fundraisers. Going into the 2010's and 2020's, the couple gradually backed away from active participation, while still keeping their hand in the beloved BESTD Clinic they had worked so long and hard to help grow.

By the initiative of Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and Supervisor Peter Burgelis, some forty individuals and organizations were recognized by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and presented citations in a special meeting on June 22, 2023. "Today, we recommit Milwaukee County to supporting and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community, celebrating those who make a substantial positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community in Milwaukee County," Supervisor Burgelis stated. "Today we are making up for lost time. We have dozens of people to recognize, not because so much has been done in the past year, but because decades and even years ago, there was little to no recognition of the LGBTQ+ community. I am thankful to work with a Chairperson who enables our County Board to honor these well-deserving individuals."

Recognitions were made in the categories of "Community Leaders and Activists," "Government Leaders," "Business and Cultural Leaders," and "Health and Wellness Leaders". Ross and Erv's citation (in which they are largely self-described) read as follows:

• WHEREAS, Erv Uecker and Ross Walker have shared a remarkable journey together for an impressive 66 years, having called Milwaukee County their home since 1981, and having contributed to the Brady East STD Clinic (BESTD) since 1985, highlighting their commitment to community health; and
• WHEREAS, Erv Uecker and Ross Walker made significant contributions to the establishment and funding of the LGBT Community Center along with numerous generous donations to organizations and activities that support ensuring fair treatment, quality medical care, and social protection of all persons regardless of identity or sexual orientation; and
• WHEREAS, Erv Uecker and Ross Walker collaborated with the State of Wisconsin to empower HIV agencies through training seminars, served with dedication on the Board of Directors of BESTD during the transition to the newly-established AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, advancing the cause of HIV awareness and prevention; and
• WHEREAS, Erv Uecker and Ross Walker conducted HIV testing sites at various gay bars in Milwaukee County and beyond, demonstrating their dedication to promoting health and well-being and leaving a lasting legacy in the community; and
• WHEREAS, Erv Uecker and Ross Walker have demonstrated courage as the first openly-gay married couple residing together at Alexian Village of Milwaukee, and providing leadership on the Alexian Resident Council, ultimately helping to set a continuous standard of fair treatment for all; and
• WHEREAS, Erv Uecker and Ross Walker's enduring love, advocacy, and community involvement serve as an inspirational example for future generations; now, therefore
• BE IT RESOLVED, the members of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, on the motion of Supervisors Deanna Alexander and Peter Burgelis, along with Supervisors Ryan Clancy, Caroline Gomez-Tom, Willie Johnson, Jr., Felesia A. Martin, Juan Miguel Martinez, Shawn Rolland, Steven Shea, Anthony Staskunas, Liz Sumner, Sequanna Taylor, Kathleen Vincent, Sheldon A. Wasserman, and Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson do hereby commend Erv Uecker and Ross Walker for their dedicated efforts and contributions to the community, and wish them prosperity, happiness, and continued success in all their personal and professional endeavors.

In March 2024, the Wis. LGBTQ History Project officer Michail Takach interviewed the couple to document their life, and they were looking forward to celebrating their 67th anniversary as a couple in November 2024. Sadly, Erv Uecker passed away on November 15, 2024, before the article documenting their interview could be published. His obituary read as follows (much of it taken from the Wis. Light article):

Obituary for Erwin Albert Uecker

Erwin (Erv) Uecker said, when asked about his life goal: "To leave this human family in a little better condition than I found it." And that he did in spectacular fashion his whole life long.

Erv was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 2, 1932. On the day he was born, the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his motorcade to the convention went right past the hospital Erv was born in. Erv's grandfather remarked on FDR passing by the hospital, "There goes one president, and here comes another president" referring to the birth of his grandson.

Erv enjoyed a very rich life, both personally and professionally. He met the love of his life, his husband Ross Walker in June, 1957 through a mutual friend. "It wasn't 'Love at first Sight', we were 'Friends at first Sight', said Erv. And they remained the best of friends through all their 67 years together. Perhaps that's the key to a relationship which has taken them from a Lutheran parsonage in Chicago, to a horse breeding farm, and finally to Milwaukee, where they were instrumental in keeping the BESTD Clinic operating.

Erv said he was a "recovering Lutheran". He was ordained as a Lutheran Minister in 1968. For ten years, he was the Pastor at Chicago's St. Luke's Lutheran Church, where he directed a staff of four associate pastors.

Although the church was in a middle class, blue-collar neighborhood, the couple lived together in the parsonage. "Everybody did what they had to do to deal with it," said Erv. "Some people thought we were brothers until both our mothers showed up at church one day."

The two also bought a horse-breeding farm in Oxford, Wisconsin. They bred horses there for about 12 years before ending it. In 1983, the couple stopped in Milwaukee on their way through to sell a property. "We were going to retire at Marco Island, Florida. But, we met some friends in Milwaukee. We decided we didn't need Florida."

That fateful decision was Milwaukee's gain. Erv and Ross got very involved in the BESTD Clinic. They both worked full-time, without pay, for the Clinic. They were also instrumental in the founding of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. In addition to activism and personal time involvement, they provided the initial money by making a long-term pledge of money toward rent and operating costs of a true community center.

Again in 2015, Erv took on the role of pastor in becoming an Interim Pastor of Pilgrim UCC Church in Grafton, WI, for six months, after the departure of Pastor Franz Rigert, to keep the church moving forward during a critical period of transition.

Erv will be greatly missed by his devoted husband, Ross, and by the many extended family and friends, including those at Alexian Village, where he has lived for the past 14 years, by the LGBT communities he was such an integral part of, to the many church congregations that were blessed to have Erv as their pastor for years.

The Memorial Service for Erv Uecker was to be held on Saturday, November 30th, 2024 at Pilgrim UCC Grafton, WI, 1621 Second Ave, Grafton, WI 53024. (Arrangements by Hartson Funeral Home)

Recollections

Contributed by Bill Meunier:

Erv and Ross were instrumental in so many ways, not just with the Brady Street Clinic but with other things as well. I well remember when (we) wanted to put Rainbow Flags on City light poles downtown and in the gayborhood on the lower East Side, PrideFest didn't have the money. So I called Erv. I was hoping to get $100 but he asked me how much it would cost for everything and I told him the poles, flags and permits would be around $500 (around $1,200 in today's dollars) He checked with Ross and they quickly produced the check.

It seems like a small thing now but back then it was a big deal. We were fighting AIDS and needed a morale boost. Furthermore, it was important to show our pride by flying our flags alongside of the ones other festivals put up on Wisconsin Ave. It was a defiant message that we are a strong vibrant community, and we are just as much a part of this community as the everyone else who had flags flying on Wisconsin Ave. We put them up the after 10 pm the night before the Milwaukee Classic Softball tournament began. Only a few of us knew what we were doing. We wanted to surprise the community and our out of town visitors.

The flags were the talk of the tourney. I remember going to the diamonds and hearing one excited local telling his teammates how stunned he was to see Rainbow flags up and down Kilbourn. He kept jumping up and down yelling, "Oh my God. You got to see it. It's so beautiful." One of his team mates gushed about seeing them on Juneau. Later that day someone came up and gave me a hug. She and her partner drove up and down Wisconsin three times to see the flags with tears in their eyes. I heard a player from Chicago tell his team mates that he'd seen them downtown. They seemed stunned that Milwaukee let us do something they couldn't do in their hometown. Someone told me that at the tournament banquet an out of towner said that after seeing those flags he realized Milwaukee is the winner no matter who takes home the trophies. All of those fantastic feelings came about because Ross and Erv understood the need and shared the vision like they quietly did so many other times and so many other ways.

Those feelings spread beyond Milwaukee. We got calls from Pride organizers in other cities asking how we were able to get that done. In answering their questions, the first thing I told them about was the generosity of Ross and Erv.

That morale boost, that statement of inclusion spread to other cities, but it started here. It was just one of the many ways Ross and Erv were there to support, advance and enrich our community. I don't know that we can ever replace either of them.

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