Gay senior lives less openly in care facility (this breaks my heart)

The love of Victor Engandela's life was a Czech immigrant, an older, square-jawed man, olive-skinned and Hollywood handsome with a shock of white hair and an unfailingly gentlemanly manner.

Joseph was his name. There are pictures of him pressed in a yellowed photo album buried on a shelf in Engandela's room at an Evanston home for seniors.

"I was with him," Engandela said, "until he took his final breath."

He shares these photos, and stories of a rich life, with no one but the occasional visitor, spending most of his days isolated from his past, surrounded by contemporaries born in an age when homosexuality was taboo.

I'm one of the few people here that's out, and I feel the weight of that," said Engandela, 85. "I don't advertise it, but I feel people know I'm homosexually oriented. They like me, but they don't like me as a homosexual. I feel shunned."





http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-gay-seniors-engendela-jun21,0,3287548.story

anyone live in chitown that can visit him? make him feel less lonely?

Center on Halsted
3656 N Halsted
Chicago, IL 60613
http://www.centeronhalsted.org/about.html

edit: on second thought, the guy has probably received many offers since the article on him was published.

I wish I lived nearby.

But, my 93 year old father lives in a retirement village and a much younger couple (two men) have moved in. They are both in their mid-70s. My Dad is all excited because they throw horseshoes with him. They have also joined his Wii bowling league. He is just glad to have some men around and has not said one negative thing about their relationship. In fact, I haven't heard any resident say anything bad and they just seem to treat them like any other couple.

On the other hand, I would not want to be around the staff because they are, generally speaking, a bunch of small minded jerks.

I live too far away to visit. I will bookmark this though. Maybe he'd appreciate some mail. :)

I hope he's inundated with supportive cards and letters.

I know this taboo will die but alas, Mr. Engandela will not live to see it

And I was virtually crucified,

The older generation as a group will NEVER understand. They've had too many propagandistic lectures on why being gay is bad. In the movies, in news reports, in everyday life.

It's hard to break a lifetime habit.