Tucked away just off Summer Avenue on McConnell Street in Midtown Memphis stands a one-story brick home. Much in the fashion of older Midtown houses, a glider sits on the front porch. A faded and torn cushion rests in the chair’s seat.

“He didn’t use that glider much, but the neighborhood cats would jump on it,” said Kathy Fay, the homeowner’s widow. “Richard loved to go on walks, and we actually found his black cat Noir while we were walking in Overton Park 10 years ago.”

Inside this house, animals rule the roost. In the living room, there is a bronze giraffe atop a tall bookshelf holding meticulously arranged DVDs, a stuffed bunny rabbit plopped on the arm of a workout machine, and a small wooden elephant sculpture in front of World War II history books on another bookcase.

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This is the home of longtime Memphis Zoo zookeeper Richard Meek, the victim of a Oct. 7 hit-and-run accident on Trezevant Street at Faxon Avenue.

Meek succumbed to his injuries on Nov. 13, another person to be killed while walking in Memphis. The city ranks as the third-most-dangerous city for pedestrians in the U.S., according to a recent study by Smart Growth America.

Before his death, Meek lived a life of love, joy, people and learning. Remembered for his friendly and polite affect as a zookeeper of giraffes at the Memphis Zoo, he was known for his signature long gray beard. He was a self-described “old hippie.” He had tattoos covering both arms but often covered them because of fears about appearing intimidating.

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During his 25-year tenure as a zookeeper, Meek would often offer enthusiastic visitors who showed special interest in giraffes an up-close-and-personal interaction with the animals behind the scenes.

“We couldn’t walk anywhere in Memphis a lot of times without someone saying, ‘It’s the giraffe man!’” Fay said. “People would recognize us all over town.” 

Courtney Janney, chief zoological officer for the Memphis Zoo, said Richard was known for his “larger-than-life personality and animated keeper chats.”

“Generations of Memphians will recall his presence in and around our giraffe barn and many of our staff remember working with Richard as a joy describing him as smart, friendly, witty and always willing to help,” Janney said.

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Richard Meek and his wife Kathy Fay lived across the street from one another on McConnell Street for more than 24 years. Sharing a mutual love of animals, they met in 1987 while they both worked as zookeepers at the Memphis Zoo. By 1992, they became a couple, marrying in 2004. 

“We retired from the Memphis Zoo and walked out together on the same day — April 1, 2012 — because we both have a sense of humor,” Fay said.

While Fay said the separate living arrangements worked well for their marriage, there were certain rituals they would never miss as a couple. Morning walks with their dogs and doing crossword puzzles together while dining in their favorite local restaurants were part of their routine.

“He was very competitive, so we never played games,” Fay said. “We loved doing The New York Times Crossword puzzle together at restaurants like Cozy Corner BBQ or Pho Saigon. The food was good, yes, but the lighting also had to be good.”

For a long time, Fay thought it was silly to be married to someone she wasn’t living with and resisted the idea of marriage. But she realized that for other reasons, marriage was likely preferable.

“One thing that we specifically talked about was if one of us gets hurt, the other one needs to be able to get into the hospital to see them, and we can’t do that if we’re unrelated,” Fay said. “A lot of cases you can’t, and so it did come in handy, unfortunately.”

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Morning rituals interrupted

The morning of Friday, Oct. 7, was to be like most for Meek and Fay. Rising at about 4 a.m., Meek would often take early morning walks to shake off the depressive effects of recurring nightmares. After a cup of coffee, he would set off alone for a walk in the neighborhood to clear his head.

Fay’s first morning ritual was a “good morning” text she would send Meek around 6:30 a.m. But on Oct. 7, he didn’t respond to her usual morning greeting. 

She called him, but Meek didn’t answer his phone. She went to his house, checked the security camera and saw he had left for his morning walk.

“Within minutes, I knew there was a problem,” Fay said.

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After looking for Meek in a car and also on foot at their usual dog-walking route in Overton Park to no avail, Fay came home and posted to NextDoor asking if anyone had seen him.

“Then I called the general police number, and I got some help,” Fay said. “Two police came and said, ‘OK, we’ll try to find him.’ And they did. He was at The Med.”

Meek was lucid enough to give medical personnel Fay’s phone number following the accident. After being contacted by both the police and medical personnel, she joined him at the hospital.

“Maybe two weeks before he died, so maybe three weeks into it … I’m one of the most optimistic people ever, but I was starting to lose my optimism and thinking that we were probably going to end up in hospice, you know, and he was going to — we have living wills and all that, and he did not want what he was getting,” Fay said. “I know he didn’t want to die. But he also didn’t want to live the way it looked like he was going to have to live.”

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Meek died the day after he arrived in hospice. 

“Another thing we would do is every year we would go on vacation, and for the last six or seven years, we’ve been going to the Gulf Coast,” Fay said, holding back tears. “The day he entered hospice was the day we were supposed to leave for our vacation.”

Had the individual who hit Meek stopped and tried to get him help, Fay said she would have been more understanding.

“He was walking in the dark and was hard to see — I’m sure he was hard to see, I doubt he wore reflective clothing, so I can understand how he got hit by a car,” Fay said. “But I cannot understand why someone wouldn’t stop. If he’d gotten medical attention 10 minutes sooner, I doubt it would have made a difference. But even so, you’ve got to stop.”

As an avid pedestrian and cyclist herself in Memphis for more than 25 years, Fay said she has noticed reckless behavior on the part of both pedestrians and drivers.

“It does seem to be more of a driver problem, but there are also pedestrians that almost dare you to hit them, like when someone is crossing the street in front of you and they’re just sauntering as slow as they can,” Fay said.

Fay said while there are options to lower pedestrian fatalities, it would likely take a large amount of action by local law enforcement to make a difference.

“More cameras, slowing people down?” Fay said. “How do you slow them down? If you don’t have enough officers to monitor it and give tickets, how do you make people slow down? I don’t know. I don’t have any idea.”

While Fay does not expect the individual who hit her husband to come forward at this point, she knows what she would say if she could speak to them.

“They stole my future,” Fay said. “He was healthy. He was 76, but he was healthy. We should have had a lot more years. I can’t imagine anyone would come forward at this point, but I hope karma gets them.

“I hope they have nightmares for the rest of their lives.”