Michael "Papa Mike" Lee McGarvin

Michael Lee McGarvin, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and “Papa Mike” to countless homeless people, was called home to be by God’s side on Saturday, July 1, 2017. He was 73. Born in Pasadena on July 24, 1943, Mike is survived by Mary McGarvin, his devoted wife of 46 years, daughter Clare McGarvin, and grandson Tyler McGarvin-Shaw. Mike was preceded in death by his son, Michael Jr., in 2004.

Mike was the Founder and Fellowship Director of Fresno’s Poverello House, a multi-service center that helps the destitute and the homeless. Forty-four years ago, Mike began Poverello House by walking the streets of Fresno’s Chinatown, handing out sandwiches, water, and spending time talking to lonely homeless people. His passion and tenacity inspired others to help, and eventually a nonprofit organization was formed to carry on his mission.

Never fond of administrative duties or financial matters, Mike focused on what he loved, namely nurturing relationships with broken people, and allowed Poverello’s Board of Directors to handle the operation of the organization. It was a formula that worked incredibly well. Poverello House grew to the point that it now serves 1,600 meals a day and provides an array of services, including shelter, medical and dental care, drug rehabilitation, hygiene services, supportive social services, and clothing, all free of charge, to anyone in need. In spite of the growth, the one constant at Poverello was always Papa Mike McGarvin, who each day could be found doing what he called his “maitre d’ duties” during mealtimes: greeting homeless people, listening to their needs, and bringing smiles to their faces with his warm sense of humor.

His early life made him an unlikely candidate to reach so many hurting people. His childhood was marred by an alcoholic, abusive father, and his youth was spent indulging in petty crimes, drinking, and violence. However, he played football in high school and junior college, which gave him focus, and he joined the Army National Guard, which also helped instill discipline in him. He began an apprenticeship in San Francisco to learn photoengraving, but, still scarred by his childhood, quickly fell in with the hedonistic drug culture of the sixties. At his wit’s end, he accidentally discovered a place called the Poverello Coffeehouse, run by a Franciscan priest. The Poverello Coffeehouse was a safe haven for the wretchedly impoverished people of the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. It was at this little mission to the poor that Mike discovered his life’s vocation. He gave up drugs, joined the Catholic Church, and spent several years volunteering as a “bouncer for Jesus,” doing whatever was needed of him. It was there that he learned to listen to others’ pain, and it was perhaps there that he honed his talent for storytelling, a skill that served him well all of his life. While volunteering there, he earned the rank of Shodan, or first degree black belt, in judo, which also served him well many times on the streets.

He later met Mary, married, and they moved to Fresno, where he worked at the Fresno Bee at night. He missed helping at the Poverello in San Francisco, and so he and Mary began making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their trailer, which he would distribute to the homeless during the day. In this way he gained their trust and came to know their problems, and as more volunteers saw his work and joined him, the seeds of today’s Poverello House were sown.

Mike’s charitable soul and humble optimism touched virtually thousands of people, from the poorest of the homeless, to Poverello volunteers and staff, to board members, to members of churches and services clubs where he spoke. He was a big man with an even bigger heart. He has received local and national recognition for his charitable work, the most recent of which was an honorary doctorate degree from CSU Fresno last May. His passing is acutely painful, not only for those who knew him, but also for our entire community. Fresno’s loss is heaven’s gain.

Services will be held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, located at 355 East Champlain, Fresno 93730. There will be a visitation/viewing on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Recitation of the Holy Rosary will take place the same day starting at 6:00 p.m. On Wednesday, July 12, 2017, a Mass of Christian Celebration will be held at 10:00, with a reception to follow at the church.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent to Poverello House, P. O. Box 12225, Fresno, CA 93777-2225.

Arrangements under the direction of Stephens & Bean Funeral Chapel, Fresno, CA.