Dilworth residents remember a kind man without a home: ‘A gentle, smiling soul’
Jesse Neal Minter was known in the Dilworth area as a man with a kind heart.
Since his death on July 13, friends, neighbors and business owners have reflected on the life behind a man they saw in their everyday lives. At the time of his death, he was 53 and had been experiencing homelessness in Charlotte.
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He is survived by his daughter, Madelyn Grace Minter, and is also remembered by his ex-wife, Cindy Minter.
Jesse was found unconscious on July 13 on Cleveland Avenue by a construction worker. MEDIC and the Charlotte Fire Department responded to the scene, but he was pronounced dead by MEDIC. Police said no foul play is suspected, though the cause of death has not been released.
When residents heard of his passing, they put together a miniature memorial for him on a staircase on Cleveland Avenue, where he was known as James. Flowers and letters were placed on the steps alongside candles, a cup and bottle of water, and two 40 ounce bottles of Icehouse beer.
“He was just a very warm and gentle, smiling soul. I’ll miss him a lot, for sure,” said Elizabeth Truman, a resident of Dilworth.
Growing up in Martinsville, Virginia, Jesse experienced deep poverty and, Cindy said, was bullied because of it. Despite those hardships, he was active in the Baptist faith and sports. He was also deeply into poetry, he dropped out of high school to support his first daughter by working full time before later earning his GED.
Jesse met Cindy in Virginia at the 22-years-old. Cindy said they instantly fell in love and moved in together to start their lives together. They had a daughter, who would become an anchor in his life.
Cindy said he struggled with untreated mental health issues that worsened after the death of his father.
“He grieved very hard when his dad died. He became very close to his dad when he was an adult,” Cindy said.
The addictions began to affect their marriage negatively, and Cindy separated from Jesse in 2001 but continued to support him. After he got clean, Cindy reconnected Jesse with his daughter, and they tried again as a family in Charlotte.
“I decided that I wanted my daughter to get to know him better. She was older. I knew that he was off drugs. We talked, and I wanted to move him down there with us,” Cindy said. “We wanted to give it another shot as a family, and I really just wanted my daughter to decide for herself what kind of person he was, because when we left, he wasn’t somebody that I wanted around.”
Cindy helped by starting up a landscaping business called Pleasant Gardens that found some success, she recalled. But they separated again after his addiction issues crept back and he lost his housing.
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In early 2021, Jesse would received from Roof Above, which is a nonprofit that assists and helps people who are experiencing homelessness get back on their feet. He obtained housing at Moore Place, which is an apartment complex that provides housing to those struggling with homelessness. Before that, for four years, Jesse endured the uncertainty of homelessness, living day to day without a permanent place to return to. “I slept in all kind of places, in the woods when it was clear, different places when it rained,” Jesse in an article on Roof Above’s website, “I slept under the bridge at 3rd Street for a year-and-a-half. It was a learning experience for sure, adapting from having work and family to hustling every day to survive.” When Roof Above asked him about what he felt during his move in, his voice began to crack, and he remarked, “That day was an awesome blessing for sure. It was very much a relief. I love it here.” In the apartment he held at Moore Place, he had a rock collection sitting on his windowsill from moments in his life that he had collected, giving a sentimental value to the stones themselves.
While Jesse’s family watched his struggles from afar, people in Dilworth came to know him as a familiar presence in the neighborhood, where residents and business owners interacted with him daily.
Grace Anglin, owner of Grace’s Skincare Lounge, described her interactions with him as warm and kind, with every interaction leaving a positive mark on her day.
“Every day, he’d see me and tell me how beautiful I looked. He was so complimentary to me and all my staff. We always really enjoyed seeing him,” Anglin said. “There were times my husband would come home and bring him a coffee or food.”
Elizabeth Truman, a resident of Dilworth, recalled seeing Jesse during her morning runs. At one point, Truman lost a necklace in the shape of a Celtic cross during a run, and he promised to look for it.
“He said, ‘What did you lose?’ and I told him what I was looking for, and he said, ‘Oh, I always have mine around my neck. I’ll keep an eye out and get it back to you if I find it.’ And I believed him. I knew he would if he found it,” Truman said.
Cindy told The Charlotte Observer learning about Jesse impact on the Dillworth neighborhood helped reshape her grief after his death.
“It just makes me really happy that people cared. I know that he would never have dreamed that so many people cared,” Cindy said. “And I think if he knew, he would still be here today. Like, how much they really cared about him and loved him.”
For Cindy, those struggling with homelessness aren’t just people who are seen as burdens or freeloaders, but people with pasts, struggles and loved ones who care about them.
“They’re just people. They’re people who are loved. Jesse had a whole life that people didn’t know about, and I think that’s what I want people to understand,” Cindy said.
His funeral service will be held privately Saturday in Martinsville, Virginia. Those looking to support his family can donate to the Wright Funeral Service & Crematory.
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