by Abigail A. Ferrante

The residents at the end of Elmwood Street were confronted Feb. 16 with the death of a neighborhood man found dead in the van that had become his home.

Lawrence Kizito Musoke, 36, a native of Uganda, had been an off and on worker for the Davis Construction, had not been seen for many days leading to the discovery, said Patrick, an architect with the company and a friend of Musoke’s. Musoke would often stop to chat with Patrick or asked to use the phone. He was more of a friend than another employee, he said.

Along with other concerned friends, Patrick approached the Musoke’s van, popped open the side doors and saw him lying on his back, he said.

Nobody with him was prepared for what they found, he said. “They couldn’t or wouldn’t go inside.”

Patrick said he knocked on the side door to wake Musoke with no response.

He then tried to shake Musoke to wake him, he said.

Again, there was no response, so Patrick said he then called the police. “It was a horrible thing to see.”

Patrick said that his own experience working with the homeless motivated him to reach out and help Musoke. This included his trying to convince Musoke to go to the Pine Street Inn.

“I’m trained to see such things, and I couldn’t tell he was that bad off,” he said with a deep breath. “I didn’t know he was in such bad shape.”

Not everyone in the area knew Musoke was living in his van. “I thought he lived over on Gorham” says Diane, an

resident, who sometimes hired Musoke for yard work or handy work around her house.

“He was always very polite, very pleasant,” she said. “He was always making sure he wasn’t bothering me.”

Others said he was kind, patient and stubborn.

Workers at Dick’s Auto Body at

said they remembered Musoke for his affable and friendly nature. “I knew of him, but I didn’t know him well” said one of the mechanics at the shop.

Julie, an employee of a design firm in the neighborhood, said, “He was very friendly, we would always say: ‘Hi.’ But, I didn’t know him that well. From his accent we thought he may have been from

Haiti

At Musoke’s Feb. 26 memorial service, it was noted that he went to college on a broadcasting scholarship.  Another friend said he had given Musoke rides to a trade school in

Medford

A school friend of his from

Uganda

According to a report from the Boston Medical Examiners office, the cause of death was burst blood vessel in his brain, which led to a fatal seizure.

This is consistent with what his friends said was a regular battle with headaches that often led to his going to Cambridge Hospital for help.Because of the sensitive nature of this story individuals asked the paper not to use their names or their full names.—Editor]