Founding member
of gay journalists association dies

John Wilson, a founding member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, who held editing positions at several newspapers including The New York Times, has died at age 56. Wilson collapsed and died in his Manhattan apartment early Friday. His partner, Richard Poirier, told the Times the cause may have been heart attack or stroke.

Wilson was a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University. He worked as an editor at The Detroit News,The Rockford [Illinois] Register News, The Washington Times,The Miami Herald, and the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In 1998 he joined The New York Times as an assistant to the science editor. Wilson's membership card in the NLGJA bore the number 4, and he was considered a leader, though he never held a formal office. Along with his partner, Wilson's survivors include his mother, Barbara Wilson, and his brother, Rick Wilson. (AP)