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Those who knew him called him Froggy because he was from Quebec, and because he collected frogs.

The 1977 Dodge van that he lived in — and died in after it caught fire Saturday morning — was adorned with frog collectibles.

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Life had not been kind to 55-year-old Froggy, whose first name was John, but he was a devoted father who made the best of what little he had in life, said a friend on Sunday.

He had been living in his van for well over a year. First, at Westwood Auto Recycling in Surrey where Murray, the owner of Westwood, took him in after he met him through an acquaintance.

“He had nowhere to go so I let him stay here,” said Murray, who didn’t give his last name and never knew John’s last name. “He had problems getting the van started, it got blocked in and I let him stay.

“I seen he was an all right guy so I said he could store the van here. It turned out to be longer than I thought.”

John lived in the van at the auto recycling yard, running extension cords to heaters in order to keep it warm, until about three weeks ago when he finally got the van started and moved down the street to Save On Parts, in the 10500-block of Scott Road.