Over the years, many people have come to StoryCorps to remember those who have died of AIDS. And for those left behind, how to move forward is never an easy path.

Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills met in 1992, during the height of the AIDS epidemic in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Together for 26 years, the two came to StoryCorps to remember the loss that eventually brought them together.

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Larry and Stephen have been together for 26 years. The two were married in 2013, a day that Larry calls “the best day of my life.”

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Top photo: Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills at their StoryCorps interview in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2015. By Natalia Fidenholtz for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Michael Braig poses for a photo in Frankfurt, Germany. He succumbed to AIDS in 1991. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.
Bottom photo: Stephen Mills and Larry Dearmon pose for a photo on their wedding day at Lake Tahoe in 2013. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.

Originally aired November 30, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.