Whenever Garth Donato ate at Subway, he would order the All-American Club. When the sandwich came out — stacked high with turkey and ham — Donato would pull out his own bottle of ketchup, dunk the sandwich in and enjoy.
His regular sub was only one of many ways in which Donato became a fixture around the Arapahoe Village shopping center. A man of routine, his friends always knew where to find him — drinking a hot chocolate in his window seat at Starbucks, watching television at the Garlic Knot Pizza & Pasta or greeting visitors at the King Soopers.
Since his death on March 25, when he was struck and killed by a car on East Arapahoe Road near the intersection of South Fairfax Way, countless daily rituals have been shattered, along with the hearts of those who called Donato a friend.
Local resident Paul Rodriguez would see Donato most mornings at Starbucks, and when he did, would enjoy coffee with him. In the two orange seats by the window, the men developed a quiet friendship.
“He was a good man,” Rodriguez said. “He had a big heart … In a few words, he showed his love a lot. Good to know a man like that. He will be missed.”
Over 100 people came to two memorial events organized by friends and acquaintances to remember and honor Donato, who lived unhoused in the area near the shopping center. Although many didn’t even know his name before his death, they lauded Donato for being a positive presence, an amazing soul and a pillar of the community.
“The guy’s presence was a fire hose of good vibes, like the Buddha reincarnated into Santa, like he was visiting Earth from a more enlightened universe,” one neighbor told the Centennial Citizen, alluding to Donato’s long white hair and beard. “I never spoke more than a few words with him, but just walking by him made my day better.”
Friends praised Donato for his humility, gentleness and selflessness. Although he lived outside, neighbors said he never accepted any offers of food or money. On occasion, on very cold nights, he accepted an offer to sleep in someone’s garage.
“We always tried to offer things, money, food, and he would never take anything,” neighbor Alex Johnson said. “He was so appreciative of just a simple handshake or a hug.”
Employees at the pizza restaurant said even when they tried to offer him things for free, he always paid for his order.
Although some would assume otherwise based on his outward appearance and shopping cart full of belongings — including a miniature car collection — Donato had money. According to his brother, Scot, Donato even had a condo. But instead of living in it, he chose to make his shopping cart his world.
Donato was born in Buffalo, New York in 1961, Scot said. His family lived in Ohio briefly, and then moved to what is now Centennial, when Donato was still a kid.
Donato went to Arapahoe High School and then became a janitor there, and lived with his father for many years. When his father died, a court ordered Donato to vacate the house so the family could sell the property.
Scot said the family found Donato an apartment, but court records show an eviction was filed. Then, the family bought Donato a condo, Scot said.
He said Donato may have chosen not to live in the condo because of complicated family dynamics — or he may have just preferred a simpler life, living on the street.
Donato’s family would visit him regularly, but his lifestyle also allowed him to build a larger family in the community who supported and loved him in countless ways.
Scot said it was heartwarming to see how many people came to the memorials for Donato and to hear their stories about him. Donato didn’t share much with his family, Scot said.
One man, he said, told the story of how Donato saved his life. The storyteller was homeless for a while, and Donato taught him how to survive on the streets.
“It was an amazing, different side of him that, you know, as family members, we didn’t experience a whole lot of that,” Scot said. “It was very heartwarming and amazing just to hear those stories, when we didn’t really know that side of what was going on with him.”
For many others, Donato was a staple in their daily lives.
Trish Voss said she would say good morning to him every day at 7:30 a.m. when she would open the Colorado Driver’s License office, where she works. She said Donato always had a smile on his face.
On the day after Donato’s death, Paul Rodriguez, who would see Donato at Starbucks, sat in his normal seat, next to where Donato usually sat. Donato’s seat was overflowing with flowers and cards.
“This is my last cup of coffee with him,” he said. “I’m just sitting here, just remembering him.”
Families knew Donato, and kids loved him. A chalk drawing outside of the King Soopers shows Donato, with “forever in our hearts” scrawled next to it.
When one couple went to King Soopers, Donato would always wait outside with their dog while they shopped. In the evenings, he would order dark meat chicken thighs from the deli and then sit in a chair by the front entrance, employee TJ Watkins said.
One father, Logan Stickney, said his family saw Donato almost every time they were out for the past six years.
“We would greet each other with a few words and a smile,” he said. “Our small kids received the biggest smile and the warmest greeting. He recognized them and watched them grow, and they knew him also.”
Centennial District 2 City Councilmember Tammy Maurer said, like many of her neighbors, she would always say hello and ask Donato how he was doing when she went shopping.
At the memorials and in emails to the Centennial Citizen, several neighbors thanked the Arapahoe Village businesses and community for how they treated the man, who in other communities, may have been ridiculed or brushed aside.
“When you walk into King Soopers, and he’s sitting there because it’s raining outside and nobody in King Soopers cares? I’m telling you what, in Aurora or Denver, they wouldn’t let him do that,” neighbor Kevin Moffitt said. “They wouldn’t let him sit in Starbucks and sleep in the chair. They wouldn’t let him go to the Garlic Knot and feed him. This community, I love living here because of the people in this shopping center and the way they took care of Garth.”
Moffitt, who used to work as a firefighter and a paramedic in Aurora, said he had met a lot of “cynical” people in his career, who thought those experiencing homelessness were lazy.
“I would just tell people, ‘You’re wrong, that’s not true,’” he said. “(Donato) absolutely was one of the kindest, most gentle people I ever met. And I’m really gonna miss him, because I used to come over here in the morning just to see if he was here.”
One friend of Donato’s, Diana Rink, said she was touched by how many people came to the memorials to honor him.
“I can go on the rest of my life knowing how much this man has been loved and how much he was cherished in our community,” she said.
Several community members said the roads and parking lot near where Donato was killed are dangerous, and shared other stories of witnessing close calls or almost being hit by cars. The police are not pressing charges against the driver who hit Donato. The Centennial Citizen has requested the crash report from the police and has not yet received it.
Beyond loving him, the community looked up to Donato. They said he was always kind, no matter the situation, and he was focused on the simple things in life that matter. He was happy with who he was and he always had a smile to share.
Many said they could learn from him in the ways they live their lives.
“He’s just the most humble person in the world,” said Voss, from the driver’s license office. “If everyone can learn from Garth, this place would be better off, for sure.”