Friend Steps Forward To Honor Homeless Socorro Man Mauled By Dogs

A teenage cashier and the homeless man.

They seemed like the unlikeliest of friends, but that’s what they became.

Lupe Avalos clutched a tissue as she mourned the death of a friend she hadn’t spoken with for years. On Jan. 26, El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies found James “Jim” Howard’s body was found facedown near a makeshift lot. The medical examiner said he bled to death after being attacked by wild dogs.

“Stubborn Jim. Old man Jim,” Avalos said, recalling his nicknames. “I wish and pray that he’s in peace.”

Avalos met Jim back in 2001 when she was working at a McDonald’s in Socorro, Texas, not far from El Paso. She was a teenage cashier at the time. He was the homeless man that would fill up his thermos with coffee every day and hang out near the restaurant.

“He liked living on the streets,” said Avalaos. “He had to be tough sometimes to protect himself.”

No family came forward to claim the 76-year-old, Oklahoma native’s remains. His remains would have stayed in El Paso County’s custody if Avalos hadn’t stepped in.

“The thought of (Jim) alone in a pauper’s grave… it didn’t sit well, so that’s why my husband and I decided we could do this for him,” she said.

Avalos and her husband paid for Jim’s cremation fee. They asked San Jose Funeral Homes in Fabens if he could help by donating a service. The funeral director accepted.

Avalos did all this despite the fact she and Jim had lost touch. She said he was an important part of her life, though.

“I’m a food stamp and medicaid worker,” she said. “I do what I do now because of things that I learned from Jim.”

Avalos said Jim would give away some of the money he got from Social Security to others in need.

“He would give all his money away,” Avalos said. “He taught me not to judge people. He taught me to have faith in people”.

Avalos said she will keep Jim’s remains unless a relative comes in to claim them.

“He looked out for me,” she said. “The way I see it, no one should be alone. Life is hard enough as it is.”