Douglas Davies died on the street where he lived, alone and, at death, anonymous.

It was days before police learned his identity. No obituary marked his passing last May.

But on Monday night at Pioneer Park, a small crowd of caregivers, politicians and the East High School choir gathered to remember Davies and others who died down on their luck, troubled or lost and without a permanent home.

This year, the Fourth Street Clinic and Salt Lake County Homeless Coordinating Council's annual candlelight vigil honored 54 people, the largest number yet in the event's four-year history.

"We were their family. We knew them," said Jenn Hyvonen, spokeswoman for the clinic. "Our providers, these were their patients."

Many had "incredibly painful lives," Hyvonen said.

Some were born into trouble and never escaped it. Others were fragile because of mental illness that wore out family and challenged caregivers. A few made bad choices, had dumb luck or met a violent end.

And many died of commonplace conditions -- stroke, kidney failure, heart attack. The difference is, they died years, even decades, earlier than normal, as rough circumstances took a toll on their health.

"It's got to stop," Pamela Atkinson, a tireless advocate for the homeless, told The Salt Lake Tribune . "We've got to take better care, health care, have more housing. . . . We look back and think, 'Could we have prevented it?' "

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon called it a "sad testimonial" that so many are homeless in America, where a greater commitment is needed to reduce its causes. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said that with more access to services, some deaths could have been prevented.

Don Hill and Jennifer Irwin, both of whom have been homeless, read the names of those who passed away this year. Among the crowd, there were nods and murmurs at a familiar name.

Judge John Baxter, who presides over the Salt Lake Justice homeless court, said he knew at least two men -- Lynn Williams and Clarence Cobb -- and came to honor their memory, as well as others who are homeless.

"I have an affection and admiration for people who are dealing with all the things that homeless people deal with -- mental illness, alcoholism, substance abuse, addiction -- yet are able to maintain and exist in a fashion that is very unsatisfactory from our middle class perspective, but nonetheless, they do maintain," Baxter said.

This year's roll call included nine women. Eric Timberlake was the youngest on the list; the oldest were 71. The average age was 49.

Davies, 48, was found under an overpass. Timberlake, 29, was discovered in a ravine in Draper last February, dead of an overdose. James Thayer, 49, was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing North Temple. Donna Toland, 40, was murdered by her husband and tossed in the Jordan River; she wasn't found until February.

Some were chronically homeless; others drifted in and out of homelessness, circumstances that made them more prone to illness and violence.

Many had family that loved them despite the flaws and failings, the addictions and ailments that made life a challenge.

The untethered spirit of Kenneth Lynn Jones comes through in the obituary his family wrote nearly two weeks ago. It described him as a "true hippie" who "stuck his thumb out one last time and hitched a ride on the wings of an angel."

brooke@sltrib.com