Our San Francisco neighbor Marvin died this week. He’d been feeling run down but didn’t want to see a doctor. He stopped answering his phone and our building manager found him passed away in his apartment Tuesday. The medical examiner reported that he died of natural causes.
He was a great neighbor. He was a very quiet, private man. We lived next to him for years but knew surprisingly little about him. He worked for the VA hospital for 30 years as a graveyard-shift security guard. He loved his old car and was constantly trying to get it to stop leaking oil. He liked baseball caps and peanuts. He slept with the TV on. We never knew him to take any trips or have any visitors but he was a friendly, outgoing guy around the building. We brought him souvenirs from our vacations and he’d give us little gifts every once in a while. He kept the lights on for us around the apartment and vacuumed the hallways. He was the handyman around the building and helped out our building manager quite a bit. He retired last year from the VA and after about two weeks of freedom, decided to go back to work at the VA part time. He just didn’t know what to do with all that time off.
He’d lived in our building since 1974. He had a great smile and was very generous. He came to our engagement party in the back yard and enjoyed some beers with our neighbors. Whenever I’d see him driving in his car he’d honk and give a little wave. It was always a pleasure to run into him around the building.
We will miss you Marv. I hope you lived the life you wanted and I hope you died a happy man. You’re a great guy.