His smile shone brighter than the lights that lit up his stage. François Ratzel, a longtime member of the South Florida LGBTQ world and active member of community theater, has died.

Paulicelli Sabino was trying to find his place in the community. He was a barber at Rebel Haus, a member of the leather community who competed in leather contests, and, above all, he was a kind friend.

Longtime HIV/AIDS activist Hydeia Broadbent, 39, passed away at home with her family on Feb. 20. Broadbent took the national stage as the first black child to speak publicly about being born with and living with HIV. Despite her contribution to HIV/AIDS advocacy everywhere, Broadbent was failed by the system she so adamantly attempted to build.

Bill McCallion was many things — an architect, an activist, a lover, and sober — but above all, he was a survivor. On his death at 71, he was among the longest-term survivors of AIDS; the end came from what we might simply call “old AIDS,” a combination of maladies accruing from perhaps 10 years of HIV, then more than 25 years of the drugs to treat it.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has died at the age of 90.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida lost a pioneer whose early efforts cemented the ensemble as a fixture in the gay cultural life of South Florida. The longtime benefactor, Doug Pew, passed away in hospice on the evening of Sept. 17 after battling a long illness.