Matthew Lamar Florence

Our friend and comrade, Matthew Lamar Florence, has rejoined the stars. Matthew's gift for gathering souls together and weaving strong, interconnected communities enriched others wherever he went. He died on Monday, May 11 at 9:30am after a brief hospital stay. In the hours after his passing, he was surrounded by friends. We hope that now his gift of gathering illuminates his journey as he becomes one with the fabric of the universe.

Born January 9, 1967, Matthew was raised in Spring City, Tennessee, the youngest of six children of Thomas and Shermine Florence of Cedine Bible Mission. Since childhood he maintained a love of good home cooking, and wove loving family bonds everywhere he went. After graduating from Rhea County High School in 1985, Matthew went on to Harvard College where he studied Social Anthropology, graduating in 1989.

He began his career in Boston, providing services, education and advocacy to people with HIV/AIDS, as a program manager at the AIDS Housing Corporation and executive director of Positive Directions.  He then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was a community leader and nonprofit executive across education, philanthropy, and public health circles, with a particular emphasis on intersectional LGBTQ+ communities and HIV/AIDS awareness. His leadership advanced the work of groups ranging from TechSoup, Black Coalition on AIDS, and MOCAA. He also maintained a passion for education, working for the Black Teacher Project, as well as serving as a much-loved teacher in classrooms at Kaplan, Intrax International Institute, and St. Giles International.

For Matthew, his work was more than a profession, it was a natural extension of his community building orientation. Along the way, he served on organizational boards and leadership circles, ranging from Comfort & Joy, Groundswell Retreat Center, Queer Camp, Horizons Foundation, SF Arts Commission, Performing Arts Workshop, B/GLAM, Boston AIDS Consortium, Bayard Rustin Breakfast Committee, Boston Living Center, HIV/AIDS Services Planning Counsel, MA AIDS Fund Advisory Board, Citizens Against Homophobia and Interfaith AIDS Ministry. An artistic spirit, Matthew enjoyed collaborative projects in film, writing, vocal music, and performance. He was curious, creative, erudite, intentional, gleeful, inclusive and kind.

Matthew is predeceased by his parents, and by siblings Beverly Florence Cox and Timothy Martin Florence. He is survived by siblings William Florence, Michael Florence, and Rebecca Osaigbovo, as well as countless friends and loved ones. He is deeply missed. A GoFundMe page has been established in his name to help family and friends lay him to rest and plan a celebration of life.

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