. . #JohnCurry (September 9, 1949 – April 15, 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 Olympic and World Champion. In 1987, Curry was diagnosed with HIV, and 1991 with AIDS. . Prior to the 1976 World Championships, Curry was outed as gay by a German tabloid newspaper. However, his sexual orientation was largely ignored by the media for many years afterwards. . . Curry spent the last years of his life with his mother Rita. She stood at Coventry railway station awaiting his return home. Over the past 20 years she was used to playing only a small role in his life, learning what she could from press cuttings and the occasional postcard. . His mother knew little about her son’s private life. she later recalled in an interview. “Someone got off the train with a cap on. He had a load of books under his arm, his coat belt was trailing on the floor and he had just one case.” Curry had come home to his mother to die. . Mother and son did not discuss the illness. However, Rita cared for him until his death. A friend Gillian recalled her final visit during Curry's final hours. . “It was so sad. His face was all eyes. All the muscles around his cheeks had gone, but he was still beautiful. . In his last interview, Curry said: . “I am talking about this [AIDS diagnosis] because I think the more open people are, the easier it gets for everyone else because it demystifies it. I don’t want others to be frightened like I was... After all, no one is immune.” . A 2007 biography of actor Alan Bates claimed that Curry and Bates had a 2 year affair. On April 14, 1994, Bates visited Rita’s house to say his goodbyes to Curry who died one day later penniless at the age of 44. . #whatisrememberedlives #theaidsmemorial #aidsmemorial #neverforget #endaids . (at Binton, Warwickshire)