The death of a homeless man

COEUR d'ALENE - No one knew much about Patric Doolittle.

One person thought he had a daughter in the area. Another mentioned he might have had a sister.

He worked in Alaska for a time, on a fishing boat. An accident left him with two crushed feet, years of medical troubles and led to a bout with booze.

He didn't own anything, other than the clothes on his back, and never had much money. He was homeless and had been living in the Coeur d'Alene area for years.

A few weeks ago - no one knew the exact date - Patric Doolittle died.

It was believed he passed away of a brain aneurysm in Hayden.

He was 50.

"Like all of us, Patric had his struggles," said Howard Martinson, director of Fresh Start, which held a memorial service for Doolittle on Tuesday.

The center has held two such services this year for homeless who have died, about six in the past year.

Of the 30 or so chairs set up at 16th and Sherman, only a few were filled. Two copies of a worn picture of a smiling, bedraggled Doolittle were pinned to the walls. There was a small vase of flowers on a stand near the front of the room. Cookies and cake were neatly arranged on a table in the back for the reception afterward.

"This is where the homeless folks call home. This is where they come to say goodbye to one of their own," Teresa Martini said.

"It's real sad to see somebody go like that," she added.

The ceremony lasted five minutes, perhaps.

Father Pat Bell read from the Bible and offered a prayer.

"Help those who will especially miss Patric to find solace in the friendship of others," he said, as heads bowed in silence.

"Receive Patric in to your light."

Doug Wiggins stood and said Doolittle was his best friend. They met four months ago at a warming center.

"He took me under his wings and tried to show me the ropes," he said.

Wiggins told tales of laughter the two shared, of moments that made him grin as he spoke.

"He was the happiest guy I ever met in my life," he said.

But Patric Doolittle was a drinker. He would drink so much, he would get kicked out of bars. He would sometimes scrape up the money for a motel room, lock the door, and drink until he passed out, Wiggins said.

Still, he was his best friend and it was hard to say so long.

"I'm going to miss him," he said.

Doolittle had been stopping by Fresh Start for years. Not daily, said Howard Martinson. He would show up for a bite to eat, a place to rest, warm up.

Justine Graybeal, center manager, said Doolittle was one of her first clients, and brightened her day with his positive outlook.

"He's one of the reasons I loved my job," she said.

In the end, on Tuesday, this much they agreed they knew about Patric Doolittle: He seemed happy, smiled often, was polite, always had a kind word, and never caused trouble for Fresh Start.

"He was a terrific guy. He really was," said Teresa Martinson.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department reported that when Patric Doolittle died, he was alone.