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Remembering and honoring a brother’s legacy – News Center
For Lisalee Egbert, assistant professor within the Division of Fashionable Languages, the panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on show at UTA Libraries is greater than only a piece of historical past—it’s a connection to her brother Kyle Lee, who died from the illness greater than 30 years in the past.
Lee’s purpose was to turn out to be a author, and he was all the time filling notebooks along with his tales. He was taking lessons at Tarrant County Faculty to pursue his dream, however his plans have been placed on maintain when he was pressured to go away dwelling.
Egbert recollects coming dwelling at some point and discovering her brother’s room fully emptied. She requested her mother and father the place he had gone, they usually responded, “he went to go discover himself.”
On the time, Egbert didn’t perceive that her mother and father meant Lee had come out of the closet and he was pressured to go away. Fortunately, with the assistance of her different siblings she was capable of reconnect with him and corresponded by way of letters.
Because the years handed, the connection at dwelling softened when the information got here Lee had been recognized with AIDS. He underwent remedy and testing to assist lengthen his life, however handed away on the age of 35.
Egbert remembers her brother as somebody who might join with anybody and make them really feel particular. She named her son in his reminiscence.
“Kyle was very personable, and he might navigate all forms of social setting and environments,” she stated. “He was a good looking individual.”
Earlier than Lee handed, he requested his relations to create a piece of the quilt so that folks would know his story. He wished folks to know that he died from AIDS.
Two sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt are in honor of Lee—one made by his household and the opposite by his pals. The part made by household options images and private gadgets with a powerful connection to Lee.
Egbert desires folks to know as they take a look at the quilt panel that its eight sections symbolize eight people.
“These people had hopes, goals and ambitions and had individuals who cared and beloved for them and miss them at the moment,” she stated.
A piece of AIDS Memorial Quilt is on show on the sixth ground of the UTA Central Library. The exhibit is open to the general public from Oct. 14-18 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For extra data, please go to the Nationwide AIDS Memorial web site.
Images from previous UTA reveals of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be discovered on the UTA Libraries institutional repository and archival hub, MavMatrix. Details about Particular Collections will be discovered by the UTA Libraries web site.
– Written by Andrew Branca, UTA Libraries