Howard MULLIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellant

BOGGS, Circuit Judge.

Appellant, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the “Secretary”), appeals the order of the district court awarding social security benefits to appellee Howard Mullis. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the district court and affirm the Secretary’s decision denying Mullis social security disability benefits.

I

Howard Mullis was born on June 25, 1944. He attended school through the 10th grade but contends he can neither read nor write. He worked as a furniture repairer and deliveryman from 1961-1965 and as an auto body repairman from 1965-1978. Mullis’s insured…