Joe Redburn, founder of two of Salt Lake City's iconic gay bars, dies at 82

Obituaries are, by nature, somewhat sad to read — because the subject is someone who has died, leaving behind friends and relatives who are saddened by their loss.

The obituary for Joe Redburn is even sadder, because of the circumstances of his death: Alone in a South Salt Lake City homeless shelter.

Redburn was a talk-radio host from the late ‘60s through 1993, back when liberal voices matched conservative ones on the airwaves. He was also openly gay, at a time when that could get a person fired or worse. And he launched two bars — The Sun in 1973, and The Trapp in 1991 — that became iconic hangouts for Utah’s LGBTQ community. (The Sun was destroyed in 1999 by a tornado, long after Redburn sold it; The Trapp, now The Sun Trapp, still thrives, under different ownership.)

But in later life, something happened to Redburn. Friends said he had health and financial problems, and at the end of his life he was experiencing homelessness.

I got to talk to people who knew Redburn, as well as people who know Salt Lake City’s queer history and the issues that elderly LGBTQ people face. They’re all in the obituary I wrote for Redburn, here at sltrib.com.