Bobby Reynolds; Lived 5 Years After AIDS Diagnosis
Bobby Reynolds, whose five-year struggle with AIDS made him one of the longest surviving and best known of its victims, died at his San Francisco home Monday.
He was 40 and was among the first of the victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome to be diagnosed.
When his disease was diagnosed in June, 1982, fewer than 30 cases of AIDS had been detected in San Francisco.
“San Francisco is indebted to Bobby Reynolds,” said Mayor Dianne Feinstein. “He lived for five years after he was diagnosed with AIDS, and he used those years to help other victims, and to increase this community’s awareness of a new and dread disease.”
Reynolds was a former Pacific Gas & Electric Co. clerk who counseled other victims of the disease and whose illness transformed him into a leading teacher and advocate.
He appeared frequently on national television and spoke at a 1985 San Francisco benefit that raised $350,000 to assist AIDS patients.
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