Obituary: Miguel Perez, Advocate for People with AIDS

Miguel Perez, 42, a prominent San Francisco Bay Area volunteer and advocate for people with AIDS, died in Santa Clara recently. Perez worked to provide education and understanding of HIV, particularly within the Latino community. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Perez was raised in Stockton and graduated from Stanford with a degree in chemical engineering. Perez was diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1980s and later became so ill he received end-of-life hospice care for a year before improved HIV medications helped him survive. He co-founded Nosotros, a group for Spanish-speaking people with HIV/AIDS and helped found Pro Latino, a social support group in the East Bay. In 2000, he received the David Burgess Award for his HIV advocacy in Santa Clara County. "Miguel Perez will be sadly missed, but his fighting spirit will continue as an inspiration to everyone," said friend Neil Christie.

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