To many, he was just a bum. But to those who knew Hozzie Hawthorne, he was a warm, if not enigmatic, man. And he was loved.
Hawthorne, 72, was best known around downtown Columbus for resting on the benches in front of the post office and the Lowndes County Courthouse, asking passers-by if they could spare some money. A short, balding man with a prosthetic leg — lost to diabetes — and a cane, Hawthorne walked slowly between downtown and his 13th Avenue North apartment when he couldn”t catch a ride.
It was at his apartment, which has neither electricity nor running water, where Hawthorne was discovered Friday afternoon, unresponsive with a body temperature of 75 degrees. He died later that day from hypothermia due to exposure.
Downtown, residents responded with surprise and sadness this week to the news of Hawthorne”s passing. Jennifer Osteen, receptionist for Attorney Gawyn Mitchell”s office, recalled how Hawthorne would enter the law office to ask for money, which they would provide without hesitation or fear of Hozzie returning.
“He was a really nice man. He never bothered us,” she said.
Sharon Richardson, owner of Shop & Save, was close with Hawthorne. Every day she offered him a free drink from the cooler and just as often offered lunch.
“He loved people. He was never unkind to anyone, although not everyone was kind to Hozzie,” she said. “He was always smiling, even though he didn”t have a lot to smile about.”
Richardson would take time out of her day and talk with Hawthorne. She even broke out some cookies one day when he mentioned it was his birthday. She gave him some cash as a gift.
The last time she saw Hawthorne she gave him a hug and tears came to his eyes.
“I thought he probably doesn”t get many hugs,” said Richardson.
Of course, there were less flattering stories about Hozzie, too. Like the courthouse security guard who would run him off by pretending to call the police on his cell phone. Or the post office employee who witnessed the normally immobile Hawthorn display uncharacteristic agility to chase down a priest or some individual he was confident would make a donation.
Then there was his very long and familiar relationship with the law.
Hozzie was arrested more than 10 times by the Columbus Police Department since the 1990s. In March 1998 he was charged with felony shoplifting for his third offense. In 2004 he was charged with burglary of a commercial building or vehicle. In 2010 he was picked up for vagrancy.
In between the larger offenses, Hawthorne was arrested multiple times for contempt of court because he refused to appear at his court dates. Unable to pay his bond or fines, he would sit in jail for the necessary number of days.
But there”s more to Hawthorne”s history than panhandling and nights in jail. More than a drug habit, although that was present, as well.
Hawthorne once worked for Phillips Contracting and Waters Truck and Tractor. He was married to the late Elma Hawthorne, with whom he had one child, and had four children in all. He sang tenor and baritone with a gospel quartet called the Mighty Trumpets of Joy, which took him as far as Detroit, Mich., on tour in the 1970s.
Jimmy Bonner, a longtime security officer with Columbus schools, managed and sang with the Mighty Trumpets.
“He used to be an outstanding guy before he got hooked on drugs. When I would see him (years later) I would pick him up and he would tell me how he was going to get back into the spiritual side of things,” said Bonner.
And Hawthorne did reconnect with his faith, but he never kicked the drugs.
Hawthorne began attending Main Street Presbyterian Church where he rarely missed a Sunday service for years. His funeral will be held there later this week.
Pastor David Strain said church members regularly fed Hawthorne and gave him rides. When he revealed he had a gas heater in his apartment, they would provide him with fuel, although the heater reportedly was not in the apartment when authorities arrived Friday.
“Whatever situation Hozzie was in, it was our responsibility to love him,” said Strain. “I did try to counsel him on his lifestyle a little. He was always very warm, but significant change would have probably required more than Hozzie was willing to take on.”
Strain specified Hawthorne was always sober when he attended church. Main Street Presbyterian even gave Hozzie work when it could.
Ed White, a Main Street Presbyterian member who worked in the construction business, remembers putting Hawthorne to work painting around windows.
“He was a truck driver and he had never done any painting before. But by the time he was done he was pretty good,” said White.
White regularly spent time with Hawthorne, taking him out to eat. He loaned Hozzie an old air conditioner in the summer to keep his one-room apartment cool. He said Hozzie generally took good care of himself with regard to his diabetes, but noticed a change in him in the days preceding his death.
Hawthorne, he said, was having trouble concentrating; a possible side-effect of his condition. He was also suffering from blurred vision and had trouble recognizing his own family members until they spoke.
“He was always very astute in taking care of his situation and making his surroundings work for him. That last week he was not able to do that,” said White.
By all accounts, Hawthorne had access to assistance. Strain said church members were more than willing to give. Jennifer Garrard at the Community Resource Connection offered Hawthorne food and blankets. Richardson said she would have helped pay for utilities if she”d known Hawthorne was living without.
Hawthorne”s son, Fred Williams, said his father received a Social Security check. He”s not sure why Hawthorne”s apartment didn”t have power at the time of his death, but said it did at one point.
“He made the choice to do that. He had the money to get all that,” said Williams.
Williams acknowledged most people who encountered Hawthorne will probably remember him as a panhandler, but insists his father”s life had meaning.
“It”s the little stuff that people don”t talk about. He loved his grandkids to death. And on the street, even if people turned him down he might say ”Have a blessed day,”” said Williams.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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