Elton John performed at the funeral for AIDS activist Ryan White at the Second Presbyterian Church on Meridian Street in Indianapolis on April 11, 1990. White was a hemophiliac and acquired the disease through a blood transfusion.After his initial diagnosis in 1984 and an early bout of severe illness, White recovered and was cleared by doctors to return to school by the summer of 1985. He was, however, denied permission to return by the school, which feared he may spread the illness, sparking a widely publicized legal battle. White was finally reinstated at his school and passed away just months before his senior prom. Elton was one of many celebrities to attend White’s funeral, including Michael Jackson, Howie Long and Phil Donahue. “Elton was the first entertainer to step forward and fight AIDS. I will always consider Elton my guardian angel,” White’s mother Jeanne told interviewers after his death.