Activist Steele buried, Huck beside him

Los Angeles gay activist Gary Steele died of heart failure on Friday, September 18, following a week of hospitalization for histoplasmosis. Gary was openly supportive of NAMBLA, and attended a number of early Los Angeles Chapter meetings. [...]

Gary was best known for his contributions as a journalist. He reviewed books on a regular basis for the Los Angeles Times and helped start UCLA's gay student publication, Ten Percent, as well as Tribes, a publication by and for gay youth. He also helped start Frontiers magazine and served as its first news editor. [...]

Gary's funeral service, held on September 26, at Rose Hills Memorial Park, was as unique and uplifting as Gary had always been during his life. Instead of a hymn, the organist played "Stand By Me." Instead of reading verse from the Bible, eulogist Stuart Timmons read verse by Walt Whitman, Gary's favorite poet. In his casket beside him lay a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

source: Article 'Activist Steele Buried, Huck Beside Him'; NAMBLA Bulletin, vol 8, n. 9; November 1987