abandoned by friends who were disgruntled and/or disgusted over his decision not to take meds. One such so-called friend told him: "now that you're so goddamn stubborn, I hope that something terrible happens to your health just to teach you a lesson." Responding to the criticism, Whitfield wrote in what was to become his final HIV Plus (November 2005) column - "A Prayer for the Dying" - that he had grown tired of people "telling me - but never asking - what I need. If they asked, they'd know that this is the hardest medical decision I've ever had to make. And I feel very alone and afraid of making it. If they'd ever stop to ask, they'd know." Whitfield died, age 36, of "AIDS-related complications" - kidney failure and pneumonia - in New York City at North General Hospital located in Harlem. Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute, wrote Whitfield's death "is yet another reminder that the AIDS epidemic is not over for Black folks in America. LeRoy's life and death with AIDS is a commentary on how complex HIV/AIDS in black face really is." October 15, nearly a week after his death, Whitfield (posthumously) and his co-writer Kai Wright received a First Place "2005 Salute To Excellence Award" from the National Association of Black Journalists for their "AIDS Goes Gray" story in City Limits magazine. The family's funeral/"homegoing" service in Chicago was held October 14 at Sweet Holy Spirit Church. On October 20, a New York City memorial service for Whitfield was held at National Black Theatre in Harlem. Whifield's final resting place is Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois which contains gravesites of many Black celebrities - including Chicago Blues musicians, athletes and other such notables. References LeRoy Whitfield, 36, Dies; Wrote of AIDS Battle by The New York Times Published: October 16, 2005 1969 births 2005 deaths AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) African-American journalists 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Burials at Burr Oak Cemetery American gay writers 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century LGBT people