Ryan White, 1971-1990 -- A Boy's Lasting Legacy

RYAN White, 18, is dead after losing a six-year battle with AIDS.

But in another important battle, White was a clear winner.

This brave Indiana boy, mature beyond his years, fought the prejudice and ignorance that made some people shun him like poison.

Displaying calm, dignity and resolve, he put to shame the small-minded bigots who sought to keep him out of school in Kokomo, Ind., after he caught AIDS from a blood transfusion used to treat his hemophilia.

White and his family insisted that he was entitled to attend school like other children, despite his illness, and they correctly pursued - and won - that right through the courts.

The family later moved to the nearby town of Cicero, Ind., where the residents - to their credit - welcomed Ryan warmly into school.

Through his long, difficult struggle, Ryan touched many hearts and opened many eyes.

He ``showed all of us we had picked the wrong enemy,'' said Woodrow Myers, Indiana state health commissioner. ``We should have been fighting all along against the disease rather than the people who had it.''

Ryan's wish was to graduate from high school this year with his classmates. He didn't quite make it.

But in the school of life, Ryan taught the world a lesson.