We Remember

Remembering ‘Contributor’ Vendors who passed in 2020

CHARLIE AVINGER, JR.

Even if Charlie couldn’t make it to dinner at his aunt’s house, his younger sister Marilyn would always take him a plate. Now, with Charlie gone, Marilyn is the only one of her immediate family left, and she’s been taking it hard.

She shared how Charlie loved to dance, sing and rap. He even rapped in the middle of her graduation ceremony, which made her mad at the time. Charlie’s favorite artist was Prince, and he became known on a local radio station as “Eastside Charlie” for all the times he would call in to request and introduce his songs. “International Lover” was a favorite.

He always claimed the Dallas Cowboys as his team, playing countless games as the Cowboys with cousins on one of those old-fashioned vibrating tabletop football games.

Just over a year apart, when Marilyn and Charlie were in high school, they practiced incessantly for the talent show, performing a duet to “If This World Were Mine” by Cheryl Lynn and Luther Vandross. Later, Charlie started working third shift and Marilyn would take his car out for joy rides while he slept. He eventually caught on when she came back and it wasn’t in the spot he had left it.

Charlie is dearly missed by his sister and cousins and aunts and uncles, but he’s reunited with his parents and younger brother, and hopefully Prince, too.

As told to Hannah Herner by Charlie’s sister Marilyn

JESSIE FOSTER

I met Jessie in 2016 at a Contributor paper release meeting and we became fast friends. We grew up a few decades apart in small towns in the same part of West Texas, which I found comforting and led Jessie to start calling me, “Tex,” the best nickname I’ve ever had.

Jessie loved to write and had many poems featured in The Contributor. She was very good at expressing her feelings and putting her experiences into poetry in a way that could be universally understood and shared. She was also extremely thoughtful and I remember her giving personal Christmas cards to her regular customers.

When I think of Jessie I think of her big white smile, contagious energy, and her appreciation for life. I also owe her a lot because she really taught me a thing or two about life and I imagine she did that for others too.

By Linda Bailey

RANDOLPH BROWN

Randolph Brown would have turned 60 years old on Dec. 19. Originally from Iindola, Miss., Brown was soft spoken and dedicated, according to staff of The Contributor. He sold papers at 16th Avenue/Magnolia and Wedgewood Avenue at the top of Music Row.

Mornings at the Contributor office could be crowded and hectic. Randolph was often one of the first vendors waiting in line to quickly replenish his papers. Contributor volunteer Laura Birdsall remembers that whenever she walked through the crowd of vendors to get into the office, Randolph would step out of his place in line to graciously tap on other vendors’ shoulders and ask them to clear the path to the door for her. When she thanked him, he would respond with his trademark, “Alright, alright, alright!”

Contributor volunteers say Brown was never without a smile and “had definite opinions about fairness.”

By Amanda Haggard

TRACEY PODANY

I had the opportunity to get to know Tracey on just a few occasions. The first time we had a long talk, she’d just lost her partner in an accident. She was injured from that same accident, but worse, her heart was broken. I quickly learned that Tracey was someone who loved deeper than most of us. She told me that she’d had a house and a car before she’d met her partner, but that even after everything they’d been through, she was happier with him in a tent than she’d ever been with anyone else in a house.

Every time I saw her after that, I would see her eyes light up and my heart would feel warmed by her sincerity and gentleness. Even after all her loss, my experience of her was that she was self-giving — a woman with dignity and hope that transcended her circumstances. The last time I saw her, Tracey gave me a bouquet of flowers that someone else had given to her. She said that she was afraid they would die in her care, and she would rather them be somewhere where they could remain alive and add beauty to the world. Tracey deserved so much more than this world gave her. As a person of faith, I hope that I will meet her again, sitting across from me at God’s table, healed of her wounds. Maybe in God’s perfect grace, she will get to enjoy a colorful bouquet on her own table— just as beautiful and cherished as she deserves to be.

Written by Tracey’s regular customer, Emrie Smith

SANDY TORMEY

Sandy Tormey, passed away peacefully on Feb. 15, surrounded by his family. Sandy sold The Contributor downtown at 4th and Commerce and in front of his church, Nashville First Baptist Church at 7th and Broadway. Sandy deeply loved his family, his church community and all of his loyal customers downtown.

When I think of Sandy, I remember how he cared for his wife Elizabeth after she had a major health crisis. I remember how much he loved his kids and how excited he was when he found out he was going to be a grandfather. I remember how strongly he felt his faith in God and how much he loved his church. In fact, I went back to read the first vendor spotlight we did on him in 2012 and he said that he moved to Nashville on a Friday and started going to Nashville First Baptist Church on Sunday. The community he found there meant a lot to him, and I think he meant a lot to the members there as well.

Whenever I’d see Sandy, he would always ask how I was doing. I’ll remember Sandy as someone who had a constant pleasantness. One that wasn’t dependent on his current circumstances, but that came from his deep appreciation of life and the people he had around him. It was a joy to see Sandy walk up the steps to our office to buy papers and check in.

By Linda Bailey

JULIO GUTIERREZ

Julio Gutierrez was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1967. He loved salsa music and dancing. Volunteers say he “could light up a room when you addressed him in Spanish.” His favorite food was rice and beans.

Gutierrez, who was 52 years old at his time of death, died in an unfortunate traffic accident while crossing Buena Vista Pike near Cliff Drive.

By Amanda Haggard