Obituaries 316
Keshone ‘Papi’ Young, 24, cat lover who planned to be an electrician
The above image, Keshone Forever Young, was created by artist Val Yoder as part of the 2021-2022 Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition. _____________________________________________________________________________ Keshone Young was the epitome of happy-go-lucky. He didn’t let anything get him down. When his mother Lakesha Saunders mourned the recent loss of her parents, Keshone encouraged her to smile, told […]
Daniel Robinson, 33, stylish dresser who was kind and generous
Daniel Robinson and Shakeya Johnson were at Franklin Mills last year when he told her, “Get whatever you want.” She had never met a man so kind and generous, and it made her nervous. “I’m hesitating like crazy,” Shakeya said. “I didn’t want to get anything too expensive. At the register I’m trying to take […]
TeJan Jenkins, 19: ‘He had so many opportunities in front of him’
The above image, Portrait of TeJan Adris Jenkins, was created by artist Elisa Abeloff as part of the Souls Shot Portrait Project 2021-2022 Exhibition. _____________________________________________________________________________ TeJan Adris Jenkins had a good life. While his West Philadelphia neighborhood wasn’t the best, “he had great exposure to the world,” his mother Terry Jenkins said. “TeJan had a […]
Saleem West, 16: ‘Basketball was his whole life’
Acquanetta A. Sutton never thought she’d be a mother. Doctors told her she would not be able to bear children, but she ultimately proved them wrong. On July 25, 1999, after 30 hours of labor, Acquanetta gave birth to her only child, Saleem West. “He was my miracle baby,” she said. “He changed my whole […]
Marcus Dixon, 30, loving dad with a ‘Hollywood smile’
Marcus Dixon was born with sickle cell disease, a painful condition that required frequent hospitalizations, especially when he was younger. Despite that, he remained upbeat and playful. “A few times he asked, ‘Why do I have to have sickle cell?’” his mother Jada Dixon said. “But his illness never stopped him from doing whatever he […]
Yasir Hopkins, 26, talented basketball player hoping to get into real estate
When he was young, Yasir Hopkins dreamed of making it big in basketball or boxing. He closely followed the Sixers, idolizing players like Allen Iverson and Ben Simmons. “Ever since he was old enough to pick up a basketball, he wanted to play. Then he wanted to box,” said Yasir’s mother, Crystal Justice. “He was […]
Raheen Myers, 30, aided another homicide victim 1 month before he was murdered
As he was walking through a North Philadelphia neighborhood on the evening of June 7 of this year, 30-year-old Raheen Myers witnessed a robbery and murder. Robert Wood III, a 21-year-old reservist in the U.S. Marine Corps, was approached from behind by two men who grabbed his backpack. One of the men shot Robert, and […]
Adam Hammer, 17, ‘the realest person you’d ever met’
When he was in sixth grade, Adam Hammer wrote about how his dream was to walk onto the football field at Oklahoma State University, just like Vince Papale did with the Eagles. He was nervous because at the time, he was the shortest player on the team and only weighed about 45 pounds, but Adam […]
Tahmair Timms, 14, feisty athlete who was unstoppable on the basketball court
“If you can lose on the court, then you can understand life,” Coach Kevin Perry used to remind his star basketball player, Tahmair Timms. Although Tahmair was shorter than all the other Olney Eagles, he was a ferocious competitor who scarcely tolerated losing. During a regional playoff game in 2017, when the Eagles were getting […]
Rasoul Grant, 23, celebrity of the family who was determined to succeed
The camera pans over an abandoned graffitied warehouse. Standing proud next to a mountain of tires, a young man wearing ripped, low-slung jeans and a Gucci sweatband, freestyles about people dying in the streets, fierce independence, and rebounding from ruin. The rapper “Soul Hoodrich,” also known as Rasoul Grant, used to express his restrained anger through […]
Terrell Arnold Jr., 25, dreamed of being an entrepreneur
Terrell Arnold Jr. had an unquenchable desire to become an entrepreneur. Not long after graduating Penn Wood High School in 2012, Terrell developed a clothing line, selling T-shirts and hoodie sweatshirts in and around his West Philadelphia neighborhood. A trip to Atlanta added to Terrell’s aspirations of owning a business. While in Georgia with friends, […]
Brent Swearingen, 39, father of two whose nickname was ‘Bear’
Brent Swearingen spent the last full day of his life with his 6-year-old daughter, Bailey. They went to the park and got ice cream, and he gave her a piggyback ride. She had missed her father carrying her on his shoulders and back — Brent had been locked up for a year. He was released […]
Aaron Devine, 25, a hugger who loved his family
Aaron Devine Jr. was a hugger. At what would be his final birthday cookout last year, he had his arms wrapped around one of his beloved aunts, Cecelia White, nearly the entire time. “I was serving people and putting food on plates and he kept coming up to hug me,” she said. Looking back, she […]
Franchesca ‘Cheka’ Alvarado, 22, a mom always hitting the high note—with undying love for The Rock
Franchesca “Cheka” Alvarado had an invincible voice like Whitney Houston and the blistering humor of Roseanne Barr. “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” she would bellow upon entering a room, an homage to her very public obsession with wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson. As a teenager, she plastered a photo of The Rock on her […]
Dennis Plowden Jr., 25, shot by Philly cop in 2017, ‘a compact guy with a big personality’
Tania Bond was waiting for a bus when Dennis Plowden Jr. spotted her as he drove by. He quickly found a place to park his car and walked up to her. “He said, ‘Where are you going? I can give you a ride,’” Tania said. She was skeptical and didn’t take him up on his […]
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