A neighbourhood in Dartmouth, N.S., is mourning the loss of a beloved community member following a fatal fire that occurred on Friday afternoon.
Ron Dunphy is said to have been the cornerstone of the community — and one of the first involved in some of the city’s most prominent social movements, including Halifax Pride.
Dunphy’s brother, Reg, says his brother came out as gay in the 1960s during a period when people faced significant repercussions for their sexual orientation.
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“He was openly gay. He was true to himself. He was never ashamed about his sexuality. During the AIDS epidemic, Ronnie was very supportive of the gay community,” Reg Dunphy said about his brother, who he said once took in a friend that was abandoned by their family after testing positive for the virus.
Ron Dunphy’s neighbours described him as a pillar of the community.
“He changed a lot of people’s lives,” said Troy Rhude, one of Dunphy’s neighbours.
Over the weekend, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to support Ron’s partner, Francis, who survived the fire but still remains in hospital.
It has already raised more than $10,000.
For more on this story, watch the video above.
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