Marley
Kenneth Matthew Partee, age 30, was found dead behind the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Taylorsville on Wednesday.
Autopsy results may come as soon as today according to Taylorsville Police Chief Michael Millsaps. No foul-play is suspected and it’s likely that Partee had been dead for two-days or more according to Millsaps.
Partee was about visable as anyone in the town. Homeless, he was seen daily pushing a shopping cart around town. Some would take Marley a meal or a drink. He always seemed to be appreciative and courteous.
Most never suspected that Marley was an artist. The following is part of a story published in the Hickory Daily Record and hickoryrecord.com.
In the summer of 2022, five of Partee’s paintings were featured in the Objects Gallery of the Hickory Museum of Art. The art was part of an exhibit hosted by the nonprofit group VOICE (Volunteer Outreach in Community Efforts). The exhibit was meant to spark conversations about homelessness in Catawba County and surrounding areas.
Partee said he lived in abandoned buildings since he was 15 years old. He spent his time around Lincolnton, Hickory and Taylorsville, Partee said in 2022. He spent at least the last three years living in Taylorsville.
Partee found confidence in art after meeting VOICE founder Marcia Hubbard. Hubbard met Partee at an abandoned hospital in Taylorsville. Hubbard gifted Partee with some art supplies, she said in 2022.
“I like to paint random stuff,” Partee said. “Just paint and paint. Keep painting; it’ll come out into a picture.”
Partee said he felt like himself when he was creating art.
The Hickory Daily Record contributed to this story.
Photo: Robert C Reed