Hereward St, Maroubra beloved farewells neighbour Kevin Young

A beachside street in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has come together to farewell an elderly neighbour who may not have even had a funeral, but greeted them almost every day for five decades.

It was an afternoon like any other outside the yellow-brick apartment block just a five-minute walk from the scenic Maroubra Beach.

But one familiar face that had brightened the days of many locals for more than four decades was nowhere to be seen.

Ken Young was a beloved elderly resident who was seen outside his building every day without fail, giving children gifts, doing general maintenance around the garden for free and joyfully chewing the ear off of every person who walked by.

But after more than a week of not seeing the 86-year-old, neighbours started making inquiries. Soon enough, the police were called and took him to hospital, though it was not clear whether he was seriously ill or already dead. But he never returned to his apartment.

Neighbour El Earl said the Golden Gate Units at 16 Hereward St were forever changed without his presence.

Kids who lived on the street with Ken Young, a beloved elderly neighbour in Maroubra who passed away.

The memorial was held on Thursday night.

“Just two weeks ago, we stopped by, with the kids yelling ‘Ken!” she said. “He never came, so we assumed he just wasn’t home. We moved down the road a few months ago and only visited him a handful of times. We wish we visited more.”

On Thursday night, residents in and around the block where Mr Young lived held a memorial for the man who didn’t seem to have any family except for a niece in the UK. It’s understood his young daughter died of cancer and he had split from an ex-wife.

Travis Lee, Mr young’s neighbour, drew this picture for his late friend.

The 86-year-old worked at Holden Pagewood in his earlier years.

All that was known about his career was that he worked as a mechanic at General Motors Holden Pagewood in his younger years.

The neighbours didn’t even know if he had a funeral.

But his makeshift family gave their own touching farewell.

John Muirhead, who had known Mr Young for 45 years, said his late neighbour was one of the first people to move into the building, likely in the 1970s.

This is the building where Mr Young lived.

“I met Kenny in the swimming club. Everyone around Maroubra knows who he is,” Mr Muirhead said.

“I spoke to him almost every day for 45 years. It’s not the same without him.”

Another neighbour, Michelle Lee, said Mr Young would call her little boy Travis, ‘Muscles’ and flex his own muscles at him. He’d give Travis dinosaur cardboard cutouts and Star Wars puzzles.

“I never knew where he got them from,” Ms Lee said.

“But he would go through recycling rubbish and find gifts and give them to the kids. It was very sweet.”

After taking turns sharing stories at the memorial, residents played ‘True Blue’ by John Williamson, with many becoming emotional.

Neighbour El Earl said when she and her family moved to Maroubra they knew no-one.

“For seven years, he was there every morning to greet the kids before school, and every afternoon to give them ice blocks or treats or toys from recycling,” she said.

“He was there to help with a spider or when someone couldn’t get into a unit. He was just like the grandfather I never had”.