For about 25 years, Leon Sulfridge, better known as “Jack the Bicycle Man,” lined up bicycles he found and repaired in his front lawn.
He would spend much of his day sitting on the front porch of his little red home on Mack Bayou Road, waving at passing cars and waiting for someone to buy a bicycle.
Everyone, from children ready for their first tricycle to teens or adults needing a way to get around, went to Jack for their bikes, said Audrey Thompson.
“He gave to everyone,” she said.
The well-loved resident of Santa Rosa Beach passed away Wednesday morning.
See photos of Jack the Bicycle Man and his makeshift memorials. >>
Jack was found in his front yard, said Capt. Charisse Rivers with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. Officials don’t suspect foul play.
A representative from Clary-Glenn Funeral Homes said there are no plans for a funeral or visitation.
The community is memorializing Jack its own way.
On Friday, two signs were in Jack’s front yard. Bouquets leaned against the sign that read “Mr. Jack we will miss you.”
The other sign, leaning against Jack’s tree, read, “Mr. Jack, Mack Bayou won’t be the same without you. You will be missed.” A few locals left smaller messages on the sign as well.
Bicycles and parts were still on the front porch.
His wife and only son passed away years ago, Jack told the Daily News in a 2011 column. Repairing bikes was a way for him to keep busy and rejuvenate something still usable.
The column noted that bikes and parts filled his bedroom, living room, and spare closet.
Everyone was friends with Jack, Thompson said. She was one of the locals who brought flowers to the makeshift memorials.
“He was somebody I wanted to do it for,” Thompson said. “He’s so loved by everybody here. To have him gone is just tragic. It’s just not fair to the community.”
Erin Abbott became used to seeing Jack either in his lawn or on his porch as she made her way to her in-laws’ home. She and her husband had just started talking about getting their 3-year-old daughter her first bike from Jack.
“It’s definitely a habit to look over and he’s there,” Abbott said. “I will miss seeing him there sitting on his porch.”
Last summer, Randy Rintala drove past the home several times before finally stopping and buying his two young daughters bikes.
Jack was very sweet, said Jessica Rintala, Randy’s wife.
“He seemed to like to make sure kids had their bikes,” she remembered.
Although one of the girls has outgrown her bike, the Rintala family has kept both of them.
“I was brokenhearted when I find out he was gone,” Jessica said. “We just don’t have anyone else like that around here.”
Vicki Kendall bought all of her grandchildren’s bikes from Jack. “starting from training wheels on up.” Any of their broken bikes would go to Jack so he could use the spare parts for others, Kendall said.
“His home is a landmark where most of us in this area use his house when giving directions,” Kendall said. ” ‘It’s the first right past The Bicycle Man’s.’ “
Even pop singer Jessica Simpson stopped her big white limo at Jack’s home one summer to look at his bicycles, Kendall recalled.
“The Bicycle Man was a neighborhood treasure,” she said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.