—Aaron Swartz: The Internet activist, hacker, author and programer who created the web-feed format RSS committed suicide at age 26. Swartz, who battled depression, had both male and female lovers; he refused to label himself as bisexual or gay.
—Michael Triplett: The president of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association ( NLGJA ) died Jan. 17 after battling cancer. He was 48. Jen Christensen of CNN succeeded Triplett.
—Gerda Lerner: Lerner died Jan. 2 at age 92. The historian/author is considered one of the founders of women's studies, having created the first graduate program in women's studies in the country and providing the template for other programs across the U.S. over the years.
—Julia Penelope: Julia Penelope, 71, an author, philosopher and linguist, died Jan. 19 in Texas. She was part of a movement of critical thinkers on lesbian and feminist issues.
—Ed Koch: The former New York City mayor who used the catchphrase "How am I doin'?" died of congestive heart failure Feb. 1 at 88. The former mayor never married, and his sexuality was the subject of constant speculation. Playwright/LGBT-rights advocate Larry Kramer once told New York Magazine that Koch "was a closeted gay man, and he did not want in any way to be associated with [AIDS]."
—Charlie Morgan: Morgan—a career soldier from New Hampshire and part of one of eight couples named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act—died at age 48 of breast cancer. U.S. Rep. Adam Smith ( D-Wash. ) introduced The Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2013, the Senate companion bill to the Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2013, in the House; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen ( D-N.H. ) with lead co-sponsor Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ( D-N.H. ) introduced it in the Senate.
—Jadin Bell: The Oregon teen, 15, died after a suicide attempt that took place in the schoolyard of an elementary school. Family and friends said the boy was the target of vicious bullying, both at school and online. On top of that tragedy, father Joseph, 48, died later this year after being struck by a big rig in Colorado; Joseph was walking across the country to bring attention to the issue of bullying.
—Cardiss Collins: Former U.S. Rep. Cardiss Collins—the first African-American woman to represent Illinois in Congress—died of natural causes at age 81. She focused on women's health and welfare issues, universal health insurance, gender equality in college athletics and Medicare coverage of mammograms.
—Tony Kerr: Kerr—a Tony winner and the star of such films as Tea and Sympathy as well as South Pacific—died at age 81. Kerr made his Broadway debut in Bernardine in 1953. He won a Tony for his role as a sensitive, effeminate schoolboy in the Robert Anderson play Tea and Sympathy and starred with Deborah Kerr ( no relation ) in the 1956 film version.
—Marco McMillan: The body of the openly gay Clarksdale, Miss., mayoral candidate was found in a levee. Lawrence Reed, age 22, was arrested in connection with the case after he reportedly drove McMillian's SUV when it was involved in a head-on crash.
—Rudy de la Mor: Rudy de la Mor, a cabaret entertainer who performed in Chicago for decades before working on boat cruises and in venues in California, died at Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center in Irvine, Calif., at 73.
—Jason Lynch: Lynch, Mr. International Rubber ( MIR ) 2013, passed away Feb. 25 in Boston at age 38. Lynch was planning his first international trip as MIR to Montreal when he died.
—C. Everett Koop: The former U.S. surgeon general died Feb. 25 at age 96. Koop, a pediatric surgeon by training, was appointed to his national post by President Reagan in November 1981 and served until October 1989.
—Richard Griffiths: The British actor best known for playing Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter series died at age 65 from heart-surgery complications. Among his many other films were The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, Guarding Tess, Hugo and The History Boys, where he played gay teacher Douglas Hector.
—Roger Ebert: Ebert, the world-renowned film critic and longtime Chicago resident, died at 70 after a long battle with cancer. He was best known for his At the Movies show with fellow critic Gene Siskel, coupled with their "thumbs up/thumbs down" reviews.
—Annette Funicello: Funicello, who was on the original 1955-'59 incarnation of Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club, died April 8 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis ( MS ); she was 70. After leaving Disney, she was in such movies as 1959's The Shaggy Dog and 1961's Babes in Toyland.
—Kenny Kerr: Las Vegas drag queen Kerr, known for over-the-top impersonations of celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Cher, died at age 60. In 1999, Kerr became the first female impersonator to be inducted into the Tropicana's Hall of Fame.
—James Gandolfini: Gandolfini—known primarily for his role as Tony Soprano on the TV show The Sopranos—died June 19 in Rome at age 51 of cardiac arrest. LGBT audiences may remember that Gandolfini played gay hitman Winston Baldry in the Julia Roberts-Brad Pitt movie The Mexican.
—Cory Monteith: Monteith, who played Finn on the Fox show Glee, was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room July 13 at age 31—and the cause of death involved a fatal mix of heroin and alcohol. Monteith's body was discovered by staff members at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel after he missed his checkout time.
—John Arthur: Arthur—the marriage-equality advocate who made headlines in July after a federal judge ordered Ohio state officials to recognize his marriage, performed in Maryland, to his longtime partner, James Obergefell—died Oct. 22. Arthur and Obergefell had been together for more than 20 years; on July 11, the Cincinnati couple took a specially equipped medical jet to marry on the tarmac of Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
—Doug Ireland: New York journalist and gay-rights activist Ireland died Oct. 26 at 67. Friends said that Ireland suffered in recent years from diabetes, kidney disease, severe sciatica, and weakened lungs and progressive muscle deterioration related to childhood polio.
—Gunther Freehill: Longtime HIV/AIDS-rights activist Freehill died in Washington, D.C., on July 15 from a heart attack. Freehill served as the former director of public affairs at the L.A. County Office of AIDS; a board member of AIDS Action; a bureau chief at Washington, D.C.'s, HIV/AIDS Administration; and a "near founder" of ACT UP/L.A.
—Sean Sasser: AIDS activist Sasser died at age 44. Sasser entered the U.S. consciousness as Pedro Zamora's boyfriend on MTV's The Real World: San Francisco in the early 1990s. Sasser's life partner, Michael Kaplan, said Sasser died of mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lungs that has been linked to a weakened immune system in some people with AIDS.
—Jose Julio Sarria: Sarria, one of this country's pioneers regarding gay rights, passed away Aug. 19 at age 91. Sarria was a proud World War II veteran and the very first openly gay candidate to run for public office in North America, as he was a candidate for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961. After his discharge from the Army, Sarria became the most famous "drag queen/female impersonator" entertainer in San Francisco.
—Darren Manzella: Manzella, a gay veteran of the Iraq war who fought against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," died in a car accident in Rochester, N.Y., at the age of 36. Manzella came out as gay in 2007 while serving in the Army during an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes. His 60 Minutes interview was filmed, in secret, in Kuwait City while he was still a staff sergeant in the Army.
—Islan Nettles: In Harlem, the 21-year-old Nettles, a transgender woman, was taken off life support after being savagely beaten in what authorities are calling a hate crime. The confrontation began when Nettles, who was out with another transgender woman, met a group of men.
—Antonia Bird: Movie director Bird died at age 54. Bird, who was British, made the crisis-of-faith film Priest ( which, among other things, dealt with celibacy and homosexuality ) her feature debut in 1994. She also directed Mad Love and Ravenous.
—Paul Walker: Walker, best known for his lead role in the Fast and Furious film franchise, died Nov. 30 after a high-performance red Porsche he was riding in crashed and exploded near a charity event near Santa Clarita, Calif. Walker was 40, and is survived by his 15-year-old daughter.
