The worst fate in life is to die alone.

James Graham died of heart disease, according to the M.E., alone save for his two beloved rescue cats in his bed, on January 20th 2022. His situation was the perfect storm of a struggle with heart disease without healthcare and maintenance. He was just getting by and trying to improve on that. I know many people laughed at James' inept and awkward mannerisms. They mostly used him as a litmus test of how they were better than him and how their lives seemed better compared to his. In essence, that was not much different than the High School bullying, he got back then.

When you have no family or equity, you’re really against the eight ball. Especially when you are really trying and starting to climb out of a hole.

Dan, Heather and I can’t think of what to do about this terrible discovery. Without insurance, we don’t know what to do with his effects, body, or loving cats. James has no next of kin and definitely no way of paying for a decent burial, so they’ll ship him off to Hart Island, which is synonymous with Potters Field.

He didn’t have much after living in extended shelter situations after the fire that burnt out his apartment a few years back with nothing on his body but a t-shirt in early winter. That was his struggle. To get back on his feet from literally nothing was actually inspiring.

The situation now is both time-sensitive and bleak.

I’m worried about two things:

One is the safety of his cats. They are loving rescues that need rescuing once again as the no kill shelters are full. So Sept 24, 2020 he took home Salem at around 10 months and then later adopted Waffles, an 11 year old. We just need them to go to a cat-friendly home. Once the snow clears maybe we could find out better what their situation is.

Then there’s the funeral. We don’t know how much they cost but James had no money and internet searches claim the starting cost is around $9000, and I don’t know if that includes taxes a farewell service/wake. He could be cremated for a 10th of that cost.

In doing a GoFundMe, maybe if just 1000 friends from a mutually shared post donated $10 we could get a burial taken care of, but the deadline is Feb 12th to have a plan implemented, even if it’s just a cremation.

Lastly, if you have a friend who lives alone and has no one, check in on them. Ask if they have a plan for what happens to them if they die. It’s not a great conversation, but it needs discussing.

pics of James are from his gigs as a TV Extra.