Years ago Marvis and I were introduced by LBFE; he as a client and I as a volunteer. I visited him on a regular basis simply for us to spend quality time with each other. During these visits we’d cover a lot of ground. Marvis shared rich stories about growing up in Colorado, his trials and tribulations in San Francisco, and the triumphs that resulted from them – all underpinned by his deep appreciation for human fairness and justice. And with each visit, Marvis and I established a deep friendship. He was a superb storyteller, with a knack for delivering the finer points with a wry wit that evoked amusement and woe in one fell swoop. Case in point, during a telephone conversation soon after him being admitted to the hospital and not long before his death, he shared with me his how his last MRI scan, years before, had triggered him having a seizure while he was in the machine’s confining tube, rendering it useless and blacklisting him from that medical facility for life! We shared a few good laughs over this one, plus tears realizing the magnitude of his current reality. A recurring theme in all of Marvis’ stories was justice; fairness for his fellow humans. The hours and years he spent serving grassroots organizations is testament to this core value he held with strong conviction. And with that, I close with this quote he offered during an LBFE interview: “It’s important to be truthful and fight like hell when it is the right thing to do.” Marvis, I’m missing you and our chats.

Larry

Marvis was such a kind and gentle man who always looked out for everyone around him. He was a part of Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly San Francisco (LBFE-SF) for many years and has touched the hearts of many volunteers as well as our staff. Marvis always welcomed our volunteers to visit with him and they always had great things to report back about their visits. They always found him to be so fascinating and admired how involved he was in his community. He was truly one of a kind.

Not only was he an active member in his neighborhood/community, he always made sure that our older adults were always looked out for. He loved to provide us with weekly weather updates as well as anything he heard on the news that he felt was important information to pass along to others. If there was a heat wave coming to San Francisco, he was quick to call us to make sure we did check in calls to all of our older adults - he always cared. 

We were extremely fortunate to be able to help Marvis get connected to the internet and teach him how to connect with old friends/family and make new friends, online. Though Marvis was homebound, for the most part, he was extremely involved with his online community and managed to reconnect with family members as well. It was such a wonderful thing to witness. Marvis made so many friends through LBFE and we are so grateful to have been friends with him for so many years. He is truly missed!