THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Stan played sports for the North End in CMSA, Chicago' largest LGBT sports league. He was never a lifer, someone who lived for sports as much as lived for his friends. Most of his friends played sports, so Stan played.

I first met Stan in 1985 on a warm Tuesday night at Belmont Harbor playing pick-up softball. We hit it off and for my entire life he was one of my best friends. In 2011, we reconnected via Facebook and kept in communication over the Internet. He had two great loves in his early retirement. One was his beloved German Shepard Caleb James Boyer, which I will be adopting, and the other was reading.

He averaged a book every three days and so I found great joy in sending him all kinds of books that I read and thought he would like. But during all our communications of the past few years, never once did I know he was sick.

Stan is survived by his good friends Timothy and Maria Ranjo Atwood, and his God-daughter Aurhea. Timothy is on Facebook and he will be organizing a special service for Stan in April in Los Angeles, where he most recently lived.

It is always sad to see someone go, but as we have learned we have to move on. So as you take in your day over the next few weeks, take a moment to reflect on your special memory of a great man, a great friend, and someone so special it will be hard to replace him—Stan Boyer.