Loss is a heavy thing to carry, especially in a city as tightly knit as ours. If you’ve been looking into recent deaths in El Paso TX, you’ve probably noticed two very different worlds colliding. On one side, there’s the quiet, personal grief found in the obituaries of grandmothers and neighbors. On the other, there’s a storm of national headlines involving federal detention centers and tragic accidents that have put El Paso in the spotlight this January.
Death is rarely just a statistic. It’s a name, a family, and a seat at the dinner table that’s now empty.
The Human Side: Neighbors We’ve Lost Recently
While the news cameras often focus on the chaos at the border or the highway, most of us are more affected by the loss of the people who actually built this community. January 2026 has been a tough month for some of our most established families.
Take Manuela Nevarez, for instance. She passed away on January 15 at the age of 86. She was a mother of seven and a pillar for her husband, Jose Ruben. Her story is the quintessential El Paso story—generations of family staying close and keeping traditions alive. Then there's Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Larsen, who was 87. She was El Paso through and through, born right here and surrounded by her four kids when she passed on January 13.
We also lost William Gene Towry, a World War II veteran who nearly made it to 100. He was 99 years old when he passed at home on January 10. People like Bill are living libraries. When they go, a whole era of El Paso history goes with them.
It's easy to scroll past these names, but honestly, these are the deaths that define the soul of the city. They aren't "breaking news," but they are the heart of the matter.
The Incident at Camp East Montana
Now, if you’re searching for recent deaths in El Paso TX because you saw something on the news, you’re likely looking for information on Geraldo Lunas Campos. This case is getting messy.
Lunas Campos was a 55-year-old Cuban man being held at Camp East Montana, that massive tent city out at Fort Bliss. He died on January 3, 2026. Initially, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) said he just "experienced medical distress" while in line for medication.
But things took a sharp turn this week. A witness—another person being held there named Santos Jesus Flores—told the Washington Post and the AP that he saw five guards choking Lunas Campos. The witness says he heard him screaming "No puedo respirar" (I can't breathe).
The Medical Examiner’s Bombshell
The El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office let a bit of a bombshell drop on January 15. A preliminary report suggests the cause of death was asphyxia due to neck and chest compression. They are likely going to classify it as a homicide.
- The Government's Stance: DHS is now saying he tried to take his own life and guards were trying to save him when he resisted.
- The Family's Stance: His daughter and the mother of his children are calling for a full investigation, fueled by that medical examiner's report.
- The Context: This was one of four deaths in ICE custody just in the first ten days of 2026. After 2025 was labeled the deadliest year for the agency in two decades, people are rightfully on edge.
Safety on the Sun City Streets
We also have to talk about the roads. The very first day of 2026 brought a tragedy that most of us saw on the local news. Angelique Diaz De Leon, only 18 years old, was killed in a crash at the intersection of Gateway North and Sean Hagerty.
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Basically, a pickup truck blew through a red light and T-boned the car she was in. Investigators are looking into whether alcohol played a role. It’s a sobering reminder that while we worry about big political issues, sometimes the biggest danger is just a distracted or intoxicated driver at a stoplight.
How to Find Specific Information
If you are looking for someone specific and haven't seen their name in the major news outlets, you've gotta look at the funeral home registries. In El Paso, the big three usually handle the bulk of the services:
- Sunset Funeral Homes: They have locations on the West side, East side, and in the Northeast. They are very fast at updating their online obituaries.
- Perches Funeral Homes: These guys handle a lot of the services for families with deep roots in the Horizon and Lower Valley areas.
- San Jose Funeral Home: A staple in the community for decades, often handling traditional Catholic services.
Most of these sites allow you to sign a "Tribute Wall" or send flowers directly to the service. If you're looking for older records, the El Paso County Clerk’s office is where you’d go for official death certificates, though there’s usually a bit of a lag time between the passing and the paperwork being available to the public.
What You Should Do Now
Grief is a practical process as much as an emotional one. If you’ve recently lost a loved one in El Paso, or you’re trying to support someone who has, here are the most immediate steps you should consider:
- Check the Obituary Deadlines: If you want a notice in the El Paso Times, they usually have a 24-48 hour cutoff before the print edition goes out. Most people are moving toward digital-only notices because they’re cheaper and easier to share on Facebook.
- Request Multiple Death Certificates: You’re going to need more than you think. Social Security, life insurance, banks, and even the utility companies (like El Paso Electric) will often ask for an original or a certified copy. Order at least 5-10 from the start.
- Watch for Scams: Unfortunately, "obituary scraping" is a real thing. Scammers look at recent deaths in El Paso and call the family pretending to be from a funeral home or the county, demanding "unpaid fees." Never give your credit card number over the phone to someone who calls you out of the blue.
- Support Local Grief Groups: If the loss is hitting hard, look into the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation or local church-based grief shares. El Paso has a strong community support system, but you have to reach out to find it.
Keeping track of these events helps us stay connected to the reality of life in our city. Whether it's a veteran passing away at 99 or a controversial headline at a detention camp, every life lost here is a part of the El Paso story.