CORPUS CHRISTI - Police identified the man who was hit and killed by a train on Thanksgiving day as 44-year-old Edward Lopez.

His family says his death is the fourth death they've had to deal with in the last seven months. Nikki Lopez had known her husband, Edward, since she was just 13 years old.

"He was my first boyfriend as a 13 year old," she said. "And I'm 41 so 27 years I was with this man. It's hard"

Edward and his family were as close as family gets. In fact, they all lived within just a few houses of one another.

The day he was killed, Edward was going to his sisters house to take a shower and get ready for Thanksgiving. He was listening to some music while walking on the train tracks; it was something his family often did when they were growing up.

"He will be missed by many and for me like I said it's very hard," Nikki said.

The Calallen High School graduate was just 44 years old. He left behind two daughters, 13-year-old Montana and 12-year-old Dakota, as well as a son, 20-year-old Ernest. Looking back at his pictures, his wife says Edward was a smart man who loved to cook.

"I mean he just loved to just cook different things," Nikki said. "Different kinds of meals that nobody really heard of. He was just experimenting with it."

As an independent landscaper, Nikki said Edward made an impact in the lives of many.

"I called him my hero," she said, "I told the girls he was my hero. He always said other people were but he was ours."

While everyone who knew Edward loved him, Edward (who was adopted by his mother's sister) always wondered where he belonged.

"He just didn't know how much he was loved,' said Nikki. "As much as he thought he wasn't loved by many, he was loved by many."

Although he isn't with his family now, Nikki says they will always keep him in their hearts until they see him again some day.

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