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Jean “Fritz” Pierre Louis, who died while foraging for mushrooms near Oakridge, was remembered Sunday by friends and family in Eugene. They honored his humble caring nature and his skill as a tailor.
Jean “Fritz” Pierre Louis was known to many as the “Mushroom Man.”
But that’s only a small part of how his friends and family remembered him as they gathered Sunday, Dec. 7, to celebrate his life.
Louis’ body was found Nov. 19 in the Willamette National Forest, more than a month after he was reported missing. The 76-year-old Oakridge man reportedly went out in the woods hunting mushrooms, one of his favorite activities.
Sunday’s service, held at the Mahonia Building near Skinner Butte in Eugene, featured his favorite Christian hymns, as well as eulogies from close local friends and distant relatives in Venezuela, who dialed in via video call. About 20 people attended the service.
“He was a gentle man, a noble man, and very humble,” said Christian Gomes, his longtime friend and caregiver.
Louis was one of the first people Gomes met when coming to the United States 12 years ago. They met on a church trip and discovered they both spoke Spanish. They quickly became close friends.
One of Louis’ traits that stood out to Gomes early on was his enjoyment of working with his hands and seeing the results of his labor. So, Louis was a gardener and a lover of nature, Gomes recalled, and his love of mushrooming fit right into that.
But those attending the service said his lifelong passion was tailoring.
His sister-in-law, Anastasie Sanvilas-Cantrell, grew well acquainted with his skill. After all, the family’s children were often his best canvases.
“Fritz was one of the great master tailors; there wasn’t a type of clothing Fritz couldn’t make — whether it’s for women, outerwear or formal wear,” Sanvilas-Cantrell said. “You could see the best of his work on his sons. He made all their clothes, and for the longest time no tailor was good enough” — no other tailor could meet the standards he set.
His tailoring career started with hemming shirts and cobbling shoes in Haiti, and stuck with him as he traveled across the globe, from Venezuela to Canada, before eventually landing him a job at Natalia’s Alteration and Tailoring near Eugene’s 5th Street Public Market.
Kathryn Vega worked alongside Fritz at the tailor shop. She only knew him for a few months, but he quickly became one of her favorite co-workers.
Vega recounted a time when, initially starting as a tailor, she almost broke a $2,000 sewing machine. But before she could panic, Fritz shuffled over and calmly tinkered with the machine, fixing the issue, all without her boss ever finding out.
“He would kind of keep an eye on me, and anytime I messed up something, he’d go over and give me a little tip,” Vega said. “He had a kind presence around the shop, and his presence just kind of soothed a lot of people’s nervousness.”
Whether it was his gentle humming that permeated the tailor shop, or the Facebook reels he would watch with volume at full blast (a habit his younger co-workers found endearing), his presence was always felt.
This made his death even more jarring. His absence in the shop is noticeable.
“Not having him, it really feels like there’s a hole. I sit right next to him, and when I look over, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s not there,’” Vega said.
Louis was supposed to visit Gomes at his home the day after he went missing. Yet his familiar knock on Gomes’ front window — and the white cart that he often filled with mushrooms to give out to friends and family — never came.
Many of the details surrounding Louis’ death likely never will be known. But one of the volunteers who helped with the search said the location where the body was found was a good match for a man who loved nature.
Mike Shaw, a volunteer with the Lane County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team who helped with the search and attended the service, said the spot where the body was found was unlike the areas they had searched before. It was a location that overlooked the whole valley and offered a sweeping view of distant mountains, lush greenery and, most notably, a spectacular sunset.
“Fritz’s final resting place was very difficult to find, but it was near a viewpoint that provided quite a stunning view over the surrounding area,” Shaw said. “With most of the area being so heavily wooded, there aren’t a lot of places that provide such a sight.”
While this wasn’t how Shaw wanted to find Louis, he was glad to see the search through to its end.
“Between searches, I would spend time thinking about Fritz and looking at maps of the area. He was constantly on my mind,” Shaw said. “There’s a huge relief when you find someone that has been missing for so long. With relief, there is also sadness … I’m grateful that we were able to provide as much closure as possible to those that knew him.”
