For a handful of local business owners and shop keepers, the
sight of 65-year-old Mitchell Hunt cruising down Monterey Street on
his motorized wheelchair with a toy poodle perched on his lap was a
familiar sight. Hunt’s routine appearances, however, have ceased
since his Jan. 23 death. Many are curious as to the passing of
their friend and regular downtown fixture, which some say is
rumored to have been a suicide.
For a handful of local business owners and shop keepers, the sight of 65-year-old Mitchell Hunt cruising down Monterey Street on his motorized wheelchair with a toy poodle perched on his lap was a familiar sight.
Hunt’s routine appearances, however, have ceased since his Jan. 23 death.
Many are curious as to the passing of their friend and regular downtown fixture, which some say is rumored to have been a suicide.
Though hints alluding to Hunt’s death are sparse, Mary Lou Mazzone – property manager for Wheeler Manor at 651 West Sixth St. where Hunt resided for one year – speculated the “dearly-loved” senior took his own life.
“He was very social, very outgoing … it’s just something nobody can answer,” said Mazzone, who recalled Hunt was happy living at Wheeler with several people adopting him like a grandfather.
She said Hunt’s remains are being housed at the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office at 850 Thornton Way in San Jose. The cause of death has not been released pending a toxicology report, according to a coroner spokesman.
Sgt. Amanda Stanford with the Gilroy Police Department said she could not confirm the cause of Hunt’s death, as GPD does not have the official report from the coroner’s office.
With Hunt’s absence lengthening into weeks, Gina Horwood, manager of Gilroy Medical Supply at 7483 Monterey St., felt people should know what happened. Hunt visited Horwood regularly just to chat, and the two became friends.
“I knew there would be people that he goes to all the time who would be wondering where he is at,” she said. “We need to let people know that he’s gone.”
Horwood said Hunt frequented the Gilroy Bowl, Station 55 Bar & Grill, the Garlic City Cafe, OD’s Kitchen, Gilroy Medical Pharmacy and Gilroy Medical Supply.
But while his friends and acquaintances aren’t hard to find, details surrounding Hunt’s past, family and death are vague.
“It doesn’t look like he’s going to have any family,” said a coroner’s spokesman Friday as he looked through Hunt’s paperwork.
He explained a coroner investigator is conducting a search for Hunt’s family, which could take anywhere from 30 to 60 days.
According to Mazzone, Hunt – who had diabetes – wasn’t feeling well Jan. 23, so he called his nurse Barbara Escobar. He asked her to take his service dog Sammy, the toy poodle who was trained to detect low blood sugar levels, for the day.
When Hunt didn’t answer the phone later in the afternoon, Escobar called the GPD for a wellness check according to Mazzone. Hunt’s body was found when GPD arrived at about 2 p.m. at Wheeler Manor.
While Escobar told the Dispatch she could not comment on the situation, Mazzone was able to confirm Monday that Sammy is still in the care of Escobar.
As for Hunt’s emergency contacts, Mazzone said they include his nurse, a cousin and a friend in Sparks, Nevada.
“I think he and his family had lost touch,” said Mazzone, who mentioned Hunt has four stepchildren, but said they had not made contact for some time.
Eugene Elliot, a 66-year-old Wheeler resident, saw Hunt the morning of his death.
“He had a problem with his tank,” said Elliot. “He said he wasn’t getting any air.”
As Elliot attached a new oxygen tank, he remembered Hunt saying, ‘I’m getting tired of all this.’ ”
“I didn’t know exactly what he meant,” said Elliot. “But now I think I know.”
Elliot couldn’t offer much on Hunt’s history, except that Hunt used to have a trucking business.
Charlie Clark, who owns Leedo Gallery & Frame at 351 First St., said he saw Hunt on the Friday before his passing.
He said the senior was picking up a poster-sized photo reproduction of a picture published Nov. 23 on the front page of the Dispatch, which featured Hunt and Sammy eating a Thanksgiving lunch together during a special banquet hosted at Wheeler Manor.
“He seemed fine,” said Clark, who joked Hunt was his normal, “irascible self.”
Karen Covington, a barista at Sue’s Coffee Roasting Company at 7501 Monterey St., said a number of folks have been wondering as to Hunt’s whereabouts.
“I heard that he took his life,” she said. “We were kind of curious as to what happened to him.”
For now, Mazzone said everything is at a standstill since she can’t enter Hunt’s apartment, which is sealed with police tape.
As for services, those hinge on whether family comes forward.
If Hunt’s assets aren’t enough to cover a burial, his remains would be held for up to a year, then scattered at sea, according to the coroner’s office.
“He was one really nice guy,” said Elliot. “He was. I lost a good friend. That’s all.”
