At first glance, Edward Thomas Ryan’s obituary, published in The Times Union of Albany, N.Y., seemed fairly straightforward.

It listed his survivors, including many nieces and nephews. It detailed his Army service in Vietnam. That he was a retired firefighter in his hometown, Rensselaer, N.Y. And that he was a co-founder of an Albany-based radio station.

But the end of his obituary, which ran on June 8, included a personal note from Mr. Ryan, who died on June 1 at 85 years old.

“I must tell you one more thing,” the obituary reads. “I was Gay all my life: thru grade school, thru High School, thru College, thru Life.”

Mr. Ryan went on to say that he had been in a “loving and caring relationship” with a man for 25 years. That man died in 1994, and the note said that Mr. Ryan would be buried next to him.

“I’m sorry for not having the courage to come out as Gay,” Mr. Ryan wrote. “I was afraid of being ostracized: by Family, Friends, and Co-Workers. Seeing how people like me were treated, I just could not do it.”