Indian Joe Cantu was well-known resident of Poteet

Manuel Cantu had few needs. His morning coffee and the newspaper, a few lottery tickets, and a bit of money for food and beer were all it took to make him happy.

Known to everyone in his hometown of Poteet as Indian Joe, Cantu was always willing to work, mowing lawns, raking leaves and doing any other handyman chores for which he might be paid a few dollars.

He wasnt begging money, his sister Hilda Cantu said. He would say, 'I can do this for you, pay me what you want; if you need anything, just let me know.

Cantu was found dead at his apartment Monday, the victim of an apparent homicide. He was 66.

The fifth of 11 children, Cantu dubbed himself Indian Joe after the Native American characters portrayed in the Western movies he watched as a child.

He was raised by his father after his mother left the family when he was 15, dropping out of school in the ninth grade to work in the fields with his brothers.

He was a migrant worker, traveled to different states, Hilda Cantu said. He picked oranges in Florida, in Indiana picked tomatoes, worked in a corn factory in Minnesota; when he got back to Poteet, he got into the lawn mowing and trimming business.

Cantu also picked strawberries in his hometown, and never missed the annual Poteet Strawberry Festival and parade.

Cantu, who never married or had children, often played volleyball with his family on the weekends, but his passion was wrestling, his sister said. He loved to see the WWE, gathering at his fathers house, and then hosting his family at his own small apartment on Monday nights after his fathers death.

But Cantu could mostly be found riding his bicycle he never owned a car through the streets of Poteet, offering his services to anyone in need.

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Indian Joe Cantu was well-known resident of Poteet