Man Comes Out in His Obituary

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Today's Daily Highlight from Elvis Duran in the Morning Show.
New York veteran comes out as gay in his obituary
and says he can now forever rest in peace. Oh wow,
and I find this story fascinating. Keep in mind, Colonel
Edward Thomas Ryan has you know been around for a

(00:22):
long time. He said he wished he had the courage
to come out in his lifetime, but was afraid of
being ostracized. He's a veteran from New York, from New
York State. And in this article I'm reading from people online,
they say he can rest easy knowing his loved ones
finally know his truth. He says, I must tell you
one more thing. I was gay all my life, he

(00:47):
wrote towards the end of his obituary, which was published
on Saturday, June eighth in the Albany Times Union. He
also shared he was in a loving and caring relationship
with a man named Paul, whom he refer to as
the love of his life. He said we had twenty
five great years together, he wrote, sharing that his beloved

(01:08):
died back in nineteen ninety four from a medical procedure
that had gone wrong, and that they will now be
buried together. As far as why he kept such an
important part of himself a secret, Ryan wrote that he
was sorry for not having the courage to come out
as gay. I was afraid of being ostracized by my family,
friends and coworkers. Seeing how people like me were treated,

(01:32):
I just couldn't do it, he wrote, But he added,
now that my secret is known, I'll forever rest in peace.
In addition to serving with the Army's tenth Brigade, Ryan
was a retired fireman in New York State, one of
the owners and founders of the radio station w HRL
in Albany. His military service led to a litany of honors,

(01:56):
including National Defense Service Medal and the Defensive Liberty Medal
for participation in the state following the attack on America
September eleventh, two thousand and one. His body, he decided,
will be donated to science at the Anatomical Gift Program
at Albany Medical College. According to this obituary, his body
will then be cremated and his ashes returned to his

(02:18):
loved ones. Interesting he is from another era. Look I
am too, you know. Coming out for me was a
little tricky in my mind, and once I did come out.
I was like, why did I wait for? Everyone was
so accepting, But when you look at this gentleman's portrait,

(02:42):
I didn't get a tear in my eye from the
story until I saw his face. Look at him, Look
at this guy, just a sweet man in uniform, served
our country, a veteran. Didn't know how the world would
take it, so he decided to keep it a secret.

(03:02):
But then he at least put it in his obituary. Yeah,
you're out there fighting for people's freedom and people's rights,
and your own are not really being acknowledged or given
to you. And you wonder how many people out there
right now are feeling what he was feeling still exactly,
you know. So to you, Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan, thank

(03:26):
you for your courage in life, and thank you for
your courage and your obituary as well. We salute you.
Your story is very touching. It's heartbreaking. Yeah, yeah, absolutely wow,
what obviously a great human being