A Salt Lake City bar owner and “staple” of the LGBTQ+ community has died.
Micheal Repp, who previously helped run The Suntrapp and co-owned Club Verse, died in his home Saturday after a battle with cancer, according to an update posted on the shuttered club’s Instagram. He was 51.
At the time of Repp’s death, his husband, Riley Richter, was by his side.
Repp was diagnosed with Stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma in May, according to a GoFundMe organized by Emily Walker, a close family friend.
Walker originally started the fundraiser in mid-August as a way to raise money for Repp’s treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute and for the ongoing recovery of Richter, who experienced a sudden cardiac arrest in August 2024.
In a written statement, Walker said Repp “never knew a stranger.”
“He was family to those who had none and he poured his life into making Salt Lake a more loving, inclusive place,” she said. “His legacy will live on in every life he touched and in the community he helped build.”
Club Verse closed last November after Richter’s health scare. The couple then moved to Colorado so Richter could receive treatment at a brain injury clinic.
Richter also previously owned a share of FChugg Inc., a company that ran the historic LGBTQ+ bar The Suntrapp in Salt Lake City. There, he and Repp created a safe haven for LGBTQ+ Utahns over the years. During the holidays, the couple hosted dinners first at The SunTrapp — then at Club Verse — for people who might not have a home to return to.
Tributes for Repp poured in from all corners of the community.
On Instagram, users remembered Repp as a “legend in our city,” someone who was “always watching out for my friends and I,” and as someone who ”had a way of making people feel good about themselves.”
“You and Riley gave me a home when I had nowhere to go,” one person wrote.
Ann Clark, a friend of Repp’s, said she met him when a mutual friend who was a part of the nonprofit organization The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire died. That friend didn’t have a family, so Clark and Repp worked together to plan a memorial for him at The Suntrapp. Repp also helped promote her son’s art at the bar.
Clark said she will remember Repp for how much he gave to others, which astounded her.
“He was always willing to give to any kind of function or community event or fundraiser,” she said, “always doing things that would better people and help people along whenever they were having rough patches.”
In 2021, Repp and Richter were given humanitarian awards from The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire, which describes itself as “Utah’s oldest LGBT nonprofit organization.” A Facebook post from the group memorializing Repp called the couple “staples” in the Salt Lake City community.
GoFundMe donor Ty Gould wrote, “…you took care of us in the community, now it’s time [to] help take care of you!”
Repp shared a post on his Facebook account the night before his death. In it, he detailed his thoughts after another night spent at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
“I find myself reflecting deeply,” he wrote. “This journey is far from over — but I will keep moving forward, not just for myself and Riley, but as an advocate for anyone walking the difficult path of cancer … There’s still so much ahead, but I remain grounded in love, purpose, and a deep sense of gratitude.”
Services are still being coordinated. Any proceeds from the ongoing GoFundMe will go toward supporting Richter and funeral costs.
Repp is preceded in death by his sister Mellissa. He is survived by Richter; his mother, Sioux Robbins; stepfather Rocky Bartels; sister Maggie Repp; nieces Jessi Grimsby and Echo Bartels; nephew Matthew Darnel; great nephews Everett and Gunnar; and his aunt, Leslie Koulter.
(Riley Richter) Riley Richter, left, and his husband, Micheal Repp. Repp died Saturday after a battle with cancer.