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Frank A. Ribaudo helped build Back Bay Place into a center for Boston’s LGBTQ+ community and HIV/AIDS advocacy.
Club Café Director James Morraj (left) and Founder and Vice President Frank A. Ribaudo (right) Club Café
The founder and vice president of popular LGBTQ+ café Club Café, Frank A. Ribaudo, died Tuesday after a two-and-a-half-year battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, his husband announced on social media.
“Frank touched the lives of so many through Club Cafe and because he was who he was… so pure of heart,” Joe Basso, Ribaudo’s husband of more than 25 years, said in a statement. Instagram share. “For me, he was the love of my life. I will cherish everything we did together and the beautiful life we shared.”
Ribaudo chose to stop treatment and received hospice care at home in his final days, Basso said.
“I was alone with him in our beautiful house where I was talking and singing to him,” Basu said. “I’m grateful I had that moment.”
For more than four decades, Ribaudo has helped shape Boston’s LGBTQ+ community through Club Café, transforming the South End venue into a gathering place for dining, fundraising and advocacy, the foundation said in a statement. Share Facebook.
“Our community — and indeed our world — is a better place because of Frank,” the venue said.
Ribaudo and his friends started a gym for the LGBTQ+ community in 1983 after experiencing harassment and discrimination at another fitness center just down the street from where Club Café is now located at 209 Columbus Ave. They later opened the Club Café as a place where members could gather after workouts, according to the venue.
“In the mid-1980s, when a new disease — later known as HIV/AIDS — swept through our community, Frank opened our doors to community dinners, fundraisers, and meetings to mobilize and change public policy,” Club Café said. “He has never wavered in his commitment to supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.”
Help Ribaudo find Port to Gulf He rode for an AIDS benefit with a friend, Michael Tai, in 2003 and spent 22 years working as a treasurer, crew member and organizer, according to Club Café.
The venue said it also organized community dinners that brought together people living with HIV and AIDS to share information about programs and treatments.
Along with HIV and AIDS advocacy, Ribaudo has championed athletics and community organizations for the LGBTQ+ community. Club Café said it has set up a community support fund for the venue, which uses money raised through recycling and coat checks to sponsor LGBTQ+ sports.
In its tribute, Club Café described Ribaudo as “strong, determined and brave to the end” and “a true hero for the LGBTQ+ community.”
A celebration of Ribaudo’s life will be held at the club’s café at a later date, according to the venue.
“Thanks to Frank’s vision and steady leadership, Club Café remains a safe and welcoming place for everyone – a place to relax, enjoy good food and entertainment, and come together as a community,” Club Café said. “We continue to give and work to make the lives of everyone in our community stronger and better, just as Frank envisioned.”
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