Today we honored the lives of persons who died this year in Central Florida after having experienced homelessness.
During the service, names of homeless persons who died in 2019 will be read aloud, and a candle will be lit to recognize and pay tribute to our neighbors who died on the streets or in emergency shelters.
This candlelight service is always held near December 21, the longest night of the year, in recognition of the difficulties that nighttime causes for those who have no home. Similar services were held in more than 125 cities across the nation, providing the respect and honor the passing of any life deserves. In many cases, this service will be the only commemoration of their passing.
The Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service has been held in Central Florida since 2002. Each year the names of those lost from Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties are read and a candle is lit in their honor. Historically, there were individuals whose names were not available and thus a candle could only be lighted for a John or Jane Doe. Due to the efforts of our community to ensure that everyone has access to their legal identification documents, we are able to provide the dignity of reciting the name of every individual who has passed.
We are grateful to everyone who came out to honor these lives. A list of those we honored is provided below.
Woodrow Acres
Trevor Ayton
Teresa Bales
Daniel Barnes
Howard Beard
Newton Becket
Judith Binkley
Richard Bishop
Walter L. Brown
Scott Brady
Daniel Branch
Robert Brin
David Brinklow
Robert Burchfield
Debra Ann Campbell
Michael Carter
Mary Anne Castillo
John Colman
Bonnie Cooke
Carlos Cosey
Mike Creger
David Earl Crowe
Timothy DeJean
Elvin Delgado
Darryl Dozier
Mindy Engstrom
Harold Ford
Brittany Fox
Tracy Anne Fraser
Donald Freymoyer
Patti Grossman
Kimberly Hand
Jason Hartshorne
Lawrence Holden
James Henry Hopson
Patrick Houle
Jeffrey Hudson
Larry Jackson
WIlliam Joseph
James Kearce
Zac Kennedy
Dawn Klenk
Georgia Landers
Bernard Leighton
Carol Lutz
Robert Mauck
Robert “Road Dog” McConnell
Lynette McPherson
Catherine Elaine Merck
James Ronnie Miller
Nelson Montero
Ivan “Dick” Morgan
Qawi Muhammed
Jerry Noel
Timothy Noffsinger
Axel Oquendo Javier
Mike Pastore
Ida May Pesole
Michael Stapler
Dean Stearns
David Steele
Timothy Turner
Gladys Velez
Ernest Ward
Christopher Alan Washington
Stephen Weimer
Eugene West
Warren Whisonant
James L. Wilson
Paul Anthony Wright
William Yocum
