Every day, West Liberty Avenue expected to see Frankie Passaro's smile.

In the early morning, the 80-year-old Brookline man would leave his apartment near the corner of Capital Avenue and walk a half-mile to McDonald's for his first cup of coffee. He'd spend the afternoon at a nearby Wendy's, sitting in the corner with a group of friends.

Then he'd plant himself on a stool at Fiori's Pizzaria for up to five hours, munching on plain slices with black olives on the side. And he'd voluntarily clear dirty tables and wash dishes.

"This place has been here for 30 years, and he's been a part of it," said Fabrizio Moscatiello, whose father owns the pizzeria.

Around 5:45 a.m. yesterday, an SUV struck Mr. Passaro as he crossed West Liberty Avenue near the BP gas station at the corner of Capital Avenue, just as he was starting his daily routine.

Mr. Passaro was taken to UPMC Mercy, where he died from blunt force trauma to the head and trunk, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner's office. No charges had been filed yesterday against the unidentified driver.

Mr. Passaro's death was a blow to those who work and live near the West Liberty Avenue business corridor. And it was the main topic of conversation throughout the day.

"Everybody had this feeling, 'Oh God, I hope it's not Frank,' " said Patrick Reilly, a community outreach coordinator in state Rep. Chelsa Wagner's Brookline office. "He was just a friendly face who was always there."

Born in Pittsburgh's West End, Mr. Passaro was the youngest of 18 children, said his son, Jim Passaro, who lived with him in an apartment above Artcraft Mantel & Fireplace Co.

He served as an infantryman in the Korean War. He then spent more than 40 years with Norfolk & Western Railway Co., mostly working as a gandy dancer, nailing down rail tracks.

Tragedy marked Mr. Passaro's early years. His first son, Frankie Jr., died within a year of birth. His wife, Mary, died from rheumatic fever when his second son, Jim, was 6 and he was 28.

Mr. Passaro never remarried, and he always carried a picture of Mary in his pocket.

Yet he rarely shared his troubled history with his friends along West Liberty Avenue.

"He always asked about you," said Mr. Reilly, as he bought his lunch yesterday at Wendy's. "He always sat in the same corner, near the window."

Joe Maloney, 68, of Dormont, often joined him in that corner, swapping neighborhood stories with a group of older men.

Mr. Passaro would jump up to clear trays as soon as someone finished eating, and he always offered to go for coffee refills.

"He was a kind and generous guy, and he never had a bad thing to say about anybody," Mr. Maloney said. "Things will never be the same. He was always there."

Mr. Maloney, a retired electrician, said Mr. Passaro used to help him work, "whenever I needed some muscle."

Fiorentino Moscatiello, owner of Fiori's, often gave Mr. Passaro free slices of pizza in exchange for help around the restaurant. On some cold days, Mr. Passaro would insist on pumping gas for pizzeria staff at the BP station across the street as they waited in their cars.

For years, Mr. Passaro was an usher at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Beechview, where he attended Saturday night Mass with his only surviving sibling, 85-year-old Carmella Passaro. Another sister, Katie Jaworski, 84, died two months ago.

A small man with a full head of black hair, Mr. Passaro looked and acted far younger than his 80 years. He was rarely sick, and insisted on walking everywhere, sometimes eight or nine miles a day.

Glenn Fiedler, 54, another Wendy's regular, said he once offered Mr. Passaro a ride, but his occasional lunch partner turned him down.

Mr. Passaro preferred the "good exercise" of his jaunts up and down the avenue.

"It didn't matter if was the dead of winter or 90 degrees," said Mr. Fiedler, of Brookline.

Yesterday morning, Mr. Passaro's son offered to give him a ride to McDonald's for his cup of coffee.

"When I was walking in, he was putting his coat on," recalled Jim Passaro, 52, tears welling in his eyes as he stood in the doorway of their apartment. "He said, 'I want to get some fresh air.' "

Jim Passaro said he never heard the sirens of police cars outside his building; a call from UPMC Mercy alerted him about the accident.

Funeral arrangements yesterday were incomplete.