Here lived a man who was not invisible.  A man who was well liked and did good things for the community.  Here lived a homeless man.

There are many men like him on the streets where you live.  But how will you recognize him if you are afraid to look?

University of B.C. students hope to build a memorial for a homeless man who had been a fixture at the university’s Point Grey campus for more than a decade.

Travers Wimble, 83, was a regular on campus, often camped out with his paper in a chair between two vending machines on the south concourse in the student union building.

The Alma Mater Society council will vote Wednesday on whether to dedicate a bench in Wimble’s memory, according to The Ubyssey student newspaper.

“He would come here and watch (over) the building like it was his home,” said Elizabeth McGuire, a security guard.

“He would clean the building up and watch for people that were up to no good. He was a good guy…. He said hi to everyone that came by.”

Students would often leave him cups of coffee and food, she added.

On Feb. 8, Wimble reportedly collapsed near the corner of Wesbrook Mall and University Boulevard and died from natural causes.

Bouquets of flowers, cups of coffee, cookies, newspapers and letters currently surround the well-worn chair as a temporary memorial for the “man in the chair.”

“I saw him every time I came into this building,” said Melissa Crum, a first-year student who stopped by Wimble’s memorial on Tuesday.

“He was always here with his newspaper and he would just watch people for hours.”

via UBC planning memorial for homeless man – Yahoo! News Canada.