Obituary – Barry Hunt

Flowers left for Barry Hunt on Mare Street

A floral tribute to Barry Hunt, a homeless man who died last month, was placed in the spot on Mare Street where he used to sit with his dog.

Barry, a resident of St Mungo’s hostel, which provides accommodation for homeless people, passed away on 10 April, aged 38.

Born on 15 July 1977, Barry was known to many around the Hackney Central area.

He would sit just north of St Thomas’s Square, greeting passersby, chatting with friends and gently quarrelling with his “best pal” – his dog Zara.

Details about Barry’s early life are thin on the ground, but warm words and tributes were easy to come by.

“Barry was very funny and likeable,” said Gary Bird, an outreach worker for homelessness charity Thames Reach.

“He was well known and had a lot of friends and people watching his back.”

When the pair first met in 2013, Barry was apparently wary of Mr Bird.

“He was very stubborn!” said Mr Bird.

“He chose not to talk to me at the time. He had been let down before. But I persevered and we built a relationship. He was a really intelligent guy.”

Barry told Mr Bird he had been living in rented accommodation. But when the landlord didn’t fix something, Barry took a stand and refused to pay his rent.

“Unfortunately it backfired and he was evicted. He always said if you had something to say then you should make a stand. He didn’t mince his words!”

Mr Bird believes Barry was not from London originally, but had made Hackney his home for “a good amount of years”.

“Barry always said things how he saw them. He had a great sense of humour. There were so many funny times!”

Barry and his dog were like a “married couple,” Mr Bird said. “He would talk to Zara like they were in a relationship. They were the best of pals!”

Barry liked to draw and would often draw Zara, using pens or whatever he could find.

Missed: flowers and notes in memory of Barry Hunt

But behind Barry’s “guarded” exterior and sometimes sharp tongue was “a gentleman”, according to Mr Bird.

Melissa Smith is a Hackney resident who knew Barry for almost three years. She remembers a man who was “never rude”.

“We talked to him all the time. He always used to talk to us,” she said.

Ms Smith last saw Barry about a week before he died. “He said he wasn’t feeling well. He felt rough. He said he couldn’t go to hospital with his dog. He thought they wouldn’t let his dog in.”

She didn’t believe it when she first found out Barry had left his spot on Mare Street forever. “I didn’t see him for a while. Then someone told me and I saw flowers there.”

‘Pleasant and gentle’

Rufaro Rambanapasi is the manager of St Mungo’s hostel on Mare Street, where Barry Hunt lived on and off for several years.

She said: “Barry will be missed very much. He was a very pleasant and gentle man who kept mostly to himself and his close companion, his dog Zara.

“Our clients and staff remember him as a man who never had a cross word with anyone and was very easy to talk with and as such was very popular with the local community on Mare Street.”

As far as those close to him know, Barry had no next of kin. The coroner therefore could not release details to them, but confirmed he did not die under suspicious circumstances. His friends believed he died of natural causes. His canine companion Zara has been fostered by All Dogs Matter.

The average life expectancy of someone who is homeless is 47, according to St Mungo’s.

The Hackney Citizen sought a picture of Barry, but none was forthcoming.

Rest in peace: tributes to Barry Hunt