Memphis Icon and Gay Rights Activist Dead, Ryan Field Books

Memphis Icon and Gay Rights Activist Dead

I’m really not all that familiar with Memphis or this activist who recently passed on. It’s one of those local things. His name was Vincent Astor and he was also a historian and organist. He was “out” long before it was okay to be out, and it sounds as if he was a colorful man to say the least.

He was also a devout Episcopalian who loved his church and congregation. And that’s interesting to me because I’ve known many older gay men who were not only devoted to their religions, but also were active in their congregations.

It seems that no one has a negative thing to say about him.

“A quick wit, a sharp wit, he was always his own person,” Jones said. “He did not change when he was with certain groups of people. He was always ‘Lady A,’ as he referred to himself.”

Here’s the entire story. There are photos. And in order to know and understand the “Lady A” remark, you have to be a gay man. I was very friendly with an older gay man who referred to himself as “Aunt Clara.” And another was, “Baby Sister.”

RIP