'He was always kind and polite': Homeless man found dead in Lula remembered by community

Apr. 4—A homeless man beloved by many in the Lula community was found dead Friday, March 24, at a residence on Thornton Alley.

Investigators with the Hall County Sheriff's Office believe Ricky Lee Armour, 59, died from a drug overdose.

Armour was known for his kind, friendly and soft-spoken nature after nearly a year of living there.

"(We're) sad to learn of the passing of Ricky Lee Armour this past week," local Christian group Love Your Neighbor Ministries said in a Facebook post. "God allowed us to minister to Ricky Lee on several different occasions through Love Your Neighbor Ministries. Ricky was a quiet man who kept mostly to himself. He was always kind and polite to us, and could be seen often riding his bike around town or working on his car. ... Please keep Ricky's family and those that cared about him in your prayers."

Lula Councilman Tony Cornett said he was there at the home on Thornton Alley some time after Armour had been found. Cornett had driven Terry Strickland, a longtime friend of Armour, to the property that evening as paramedics confirmed Armour had passed. Strickland grew up in Hall County with Armour and the two had known each other since elementary school.

"(Armour) was a really nice person," Strickland said. "I considered him a friend, and I miss him."

Dave Wilson, owner of Lula Mercantile, said he'd developed a friendship with Armour over the last year.

"(Armour) lived just down Carter Alley from me," Wilson said. "He was always walking back and forth through here, and it was just kind of good to know him because he was my neighbor, you know."

Sometimes Wilson drove Armour to a nearby bank to draw a disability check, and as he grew to know Armour, he learned Armour was a guitarist who once played in a band and performed at a number of bars over the years.

"He was like a kid at heart," Wilson said. "I used to call him 'Tricky Ricky.' He was always smiling, always cutting up. Probably the nicest person I've met in this town, just as good as he could be."

Wilson's bond with Armour was close — so much that when Armour was hospitalized for pneumonia several months ago, Wilson was the first person contacted by the hospital over Facebook when Armour was released.

"He got back here and we got him set back up," Wilson said.

Wilson said he holds a community cookout at his downtown business, where anyone can come for food on the second Tuesday of the month. Wilson said he hopes to expand this in the coming years, and he credited Armour for getting it off the ground in its initial phases.

"It's for anybody," Wilson said. "We try to play music — we're trying to present to city council to maybe even move it toward the stage to grow into something larger. That way, people get to meet the disadvantaged in more of a humanistic light."

"(Armour) was kind of one of the people who helped it get off the ground — just for feeding people," Wilson said.

Wilson said he was saddened to hear of Armour's death, and that his spirit will be missed in the community.

Wilson went on to say that he's planning to hold some kind of memorial service in honor of Armour, though he hasn't yet determined a specific date that could take place.