Jason Baron Huggins was murdered in San Diego, Calif.
Jason "Cowboy" Huggins will always be remembered for his charismatic personality, giving spirit and love for people.
The 31-year-old San Diego resident who grew up in Clarksville was beaten to death with a rock on June 22. He died July 6 at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, according to a close friend and family members who still live in Clarksville.
San Diego police arrested Joshua Larson, 37, in the killing.
Huggins was openly gay, and the gay community in San Diego has rallied around the incident even though police have not classified Huggins' death as a hate crime. Authorities suspect Huggins and Larson knew each other, said Justin Newman, a close friend of Huggins.
Huggins, who graduated from Clarksville High School, lived in Clarksville with his grandparents and his aunt and uncle, Jennifer and Mark Sanders.
"I hadn't spoken to him until four or five months ago," Jennifer Sanders said. "He called me at midnight. He sounded very good and happy. He was enrolled in school for computer classes. I was excited and happy to hear from him and happy that he was happy.
"Then we got that call on June 22," Jennifer Sanders continued. "The next day we flew out there. The hospital told us he was on life support and was severely brain damaged. They needed permission to take him off life support."
Jennifer Sanders said Huggins died eight days after he was taken off life support.
"I was at the hospital quite a bit," Newman said. "It was heartbreaking. Jason was the type who wouldn't hurt a fly."
Huggins will be remembered as someone who was always himself and cared deeply about other people.
"He was the person that, even though in the last six months he was homeless, he'd still give someone the shirt off his back," Newman said. "He'd go out of his way to help people. He was one of the good ol' boys, one of the last few in the gay community who was genuine and cared about everybody no matter what they were going through. He was always nice; it didn't matter. He cared about and loved everyone."any knew him for his western attire and affectionately called him "Cowboy.""You would never see him without his cowboy hat, a huge belt buckle and cowboy boots," Newman said. "It was his trademark.
"Huggins was also known for his sense of humor."He had one of those infectious personalities," Newman said. "He always made sure he was cracking jokes to make people laugh. Everyone loved him so much. It didn't' matter how bad his life was toward the end, he was still making people laugh. That's why he was loved so much."A funeral for Huggins was held in San Diego, and many of his friends were there.
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