Robert Publicover: Sept. 29, 1949 – Dec. 31, 2012

Robert “Bob” Publicover, the founder of The Somerville News and a prominent AIDS/HIV activist, died between 4 and 6 a.m. on Dec. 31.

He was 63.

Publicover was believed until his death to be the nation’s longest living survivor of AIDS. He had also been battling cancer.

In May, Scout published a long profile of Publicover, titled The Survivor.

Publicover has dedicated much of his life to pouring energy into serving others while pushing through his own setbacks. While battling HIV/AIDS for three and a half decades, he has become one of the most notable and recognizable figures in the Somerville community. He founded theSomerville News in 1980 and ran it for 22 years. He founded the Committee for a Response to AIDS in 1985 just before his own diagnosis, and the Somerville high School Scholarship Fund in 1990. He’s authored two books about the virus, and began a state senate campaign in 2005. You can call him a newsman or an activist or an entrepreneur. First and foremost, though, Publicover has always been a fighter.

Publicover leaves behind a husband, David Lebahn.

You can read more about Publicover here.

We expect to receive Publicover’s official obituary and will publish it upon reception.