Lee Mentley, the self-described Princess of Castro Street, died January 20 at his home in Sonora, California. He was 72.
The cause of death was congestive heart failure, according to August Bernadicou, who wrote an obituary for Mr. Mentley for his LGBTQ History Project website.
Mr. Mentley apparently gave himself the princess moniker. His 2016 memoir is titled The Princess of Castro Street.
Mr. Mentley was born June 2, 1948 and raised in East Los Angeles at a time when its inhabitants had to act confidently and fight for their safety, Bernadicou wrote in his obituary. Mr. Mentley s mother, knowing he was different, called him by the feminine name Lorraine, which he shamelessly embraced. His family had guns for protection, and his mother told him to always keep hairspray in his car it can be used as a weapon one of the numerous precautions he took throughout his life. His childhood instilled in him a we-must-fight-to-survive mentality, and while he always maintained that