At first glance, Edward Thomas Ryan’s obituary, published in The Times Union of Albany, N.Y., seemed fairly straightforward.
It listed his survivors, including many nieces and nephews. It detailed his Army service in Vietnam. That he was a retired firefighter in his hometown, Rensselaer, N.Y.
And that he was a co-founder of an Albany-based radio station. But the end of his obituary, which ran on June 8, included a personal note from Mr.
Ryan, who died on June 1 at 85 years old. “I must tell you one more thing,” the obituary reads. “I was Gay all my life: thru grade school, thru High School, thru College, thru Life.” Mr.