Richard Mann, whose wintry gesture made him a viral sensation, dies at 107

The simple gesture of shoveling a neighbor's sidewalk made St. Paul's Richard Mann a social media sensation at age 101.

More than 2 million viewers around the world over the last six years watched the Facebook video of Mann clearing the snow.

Mann, who until a few years ago still lived on that same block of N. Western Avenue, died Sunday during an afternoon nap at an assisted living residence in Sunfish Lake. He was 107.

Margo Mann said she was with her father New Year's Day, the day before he died, and they shared the family's traditional meal of black-eyed peas.

"He wasn't talkative and was tired, but he never forgot my name," Mann said. "He'd say, 'Margo, I love you.' He was pretty sharp considering being 107."

Nothing much was ailing him in his final days, she said, other than some arthritis in his fingers and high blood pressure.

In early January of 2016, Mann saw what a light snowfall had left, so he did what had to be done for his traveling next-door neighbor. Mann cleared snow from the sidewalk, three steps and the walk to the door.

Another neighbor across the street made a visual record of Mann's gesture, posted it online and the rest is viral history. Nearly 600,000 of those 2.2 million views came in the first several days after it was posted.

"Mr. Mann, I was looking out my window, and I'm filming you right there at this time, Mr. Mann," Keven O'Bannon can be heard on his video as he tromped across the street toward the stocking-capped centenarian. "You're 101 years old, and you're out here shoveling the neighbor's snow?"

Mann, a great-grandfather, chuckled as he leaned on the upright shovel and replied, "Well, he's out of town, and I'm not exerting myself. I'm not going to overdo it. I can use the exercise. … I know what my limitations are."

PeoplePeople magazine posted a story about the the gesture and the video.

O'Bannon said Friday that he would visit Mann after he moved from Western Avenue but had to keep his distance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We could drive by his window and wave at him," O'Bannon, 61, said. "He was still in such good spirits."

Richard Morris Mann was born in St. Paul and graduated from Minneapolis Central High School in 1935.

From 1947-49, he owned the Treasure Inn nightclub in Roseville. Among the acts who performed there were Percy Hughes and Prince Rogers, Prince's father, according to a biography the family put together for his 100th birthday.

After another brief stint running a 3.2 bar in the Rondo neighborhood, Mann worked for the U.S. Postal Service until he retired in 1983 after 30 years.

So what was the secret to a long and healthy life for the twice-widowed father of three?

Margo Mann said he would always reply with "wine, women and something else, golf."

The family is planning a memorial celebration for March 12, four days after what would have been his 108th birthday.