Obituaries

Former state Rep. Garnet Coleman died September 23 at age 65. In 2019, he talked with OutSmart about his friendships in Montrose, his decades of LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS legislation, and why he kept showing up…

Former state Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat who served in the Texas House for more than 30 years and helped establish CHIP and Children's Medicaid in Texas, died Wednesday. He was 65.

Alice Miller McCarthy, a Houston contractor, feminist, HISD desegregation advocate, and tireless voter registrar, died September 3 at 88. A Celebration of Life is set for Saturday, September 19, at First Unitarian Universalist Church.

Gloria Steinem, the Ms. magazine co-founder who spent six decades as the literal face of second-wave feminism—aviators and all—has died at 92. From "A Bunny's Tale" to the ERA fight to her Upper East Side…

Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the gay former priest whose novel "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" won Stonewall and Lambda honors and drew book bans, has died in El Paso at 71.

Steven "Tank" Wayne Evans, 71, a well-known member of Houston's LGBTQ+ community and Queen XXIII of the Krewe of Olympus, passed away July 19, 2026. He is remembered for his friendships, his devotion to the…

Persia Amarra Conway’s loved ones and members of Houston’s LGBTQ community gathered at the Montrose Center to honor her life, mourn her loss, and call for greater care and protection for transgender women, especially trans…

Barney Frank, the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay, died at 86 after a career shaping LGBTQ rights, banking reform, and Democratic politics.

Jason Collins, the first openly gay active player in a major U.S. men’s professional sports league, died at 47 after battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Dr. Ronald Jerry LaCarna, 81, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Houston, Texas, on February 3, 2026.