Obituaries 316
Francisco “Frankie” Caraballo Ortiz, 33, planned to take his son trick-or-treating
By all accounts, the most significant event in Francisco “Frankie” Caraballo Ortiz’s life was the birth of his son, Marcus, in 2011. “His son was his world,” said Yarii Torres, Marcus’ mother and Frankie’s former girlfriend. In recent months, 33-year-old Frankie had been working on bringing some stability to his life so he could be […]
Chris Francis, 21, Wonderful Father to a Son He Didn’t Bear
As a young man, Chris Francis fell in love with a girl. That girl was a mother to a baby. And although Brandon, the child of his girlfriend, Erin, was not biologically his, he considered the boy his own. He lived and breathed for that child. “I think the fact that he raised the son […]
Markeish Amir Johnson, 18: ‘I can’t like everybody because everybody isn’t like me’
Markeish Amir Johnson wasn’t your average 18 year old. He loved his family, kept a small circle of friends and was respectful to everyone he crossed paths with. “I’d say, ‘You don’t have many friends,’ but he’d say, ‘I can’t like everybody because everybody isn’t like me,’” Markeish’s mother, Angela Parrish, recalled. Markeish was a […]
Brandon Phillips, 36, working to make a better life for himself
At 36 years old, Brandon Phillips was finally turning his life around. “He had a bump in the road in his early adult life, but toward the end I guess he was trying to slowly get his life back together,” said Dawn Ferguson, Brandon’s wife of three years. Brandon had a family he cared deeply […]
Alexander ‘Tito’ Martinez, 23, loved doing hair and makeup
When Alexander Martinez was about 15, he sat down with his family and told them he had something to tell them. His sister, Roz Pichardo, remembers how nervous he was, and his family knew what was coming. “He said, ‘I just wanted to tell you guys that I’m gay and I still love everybody and […]
Richard Davila, 47, loved to collect sneakers
Shoeboxes filled with more than one hundred sneakers are stacked neatly in the Davilas’ Fairhill home. Richard Davila, a 47-year-old originally from Puerto Rico, collected sneakers for fun. He loved having the newest Jordans and always kept his collection in pristine condition. The sneakers have remained untouched since January 3, 2016, when Richard Davila was […]
Darryl Singleton, 24, a ‘Winslow’ training to be an EMT
Trina Singleton and her husband did everything they could to give their son Darryl a good life. He grew up spending his summers visiting his grandmothers in Georgia and South Carolina, even flying on an airplane by himself when he was young. He went to a two-week CSI camp affiliated with Johns Hopkins University in […]
Caitlin Jaje, 23, overcame obstacles to help others
Life is a challenge, meet it. Caitlin Jaje’s path in life was never an easy one. In her 23 years, she struggled with addiction, battled with a rare illness and went through other ups and downs. She was now clean for two years, healthy and getting ready to enroll in community college. “She was in […]
Khalil ‘Lil’ Shoatz, 25, paid registration fees so kids could play football
Khalil Shoatz grew up playing football. He was a member of the West Philly Panthers from age 5 until high school, then he joined the University City High School Jaguars and played as a linebacker. In the early summer of 2016, he heard about a group of seven boys who wanted to join the West […]
Benjamin Drains, 23, carried extra water around for thirsty homeless
Benjamin M. Drains Jr. knew tragedy, having lost his cop father when he was a teenager, but he still managed to serve as a role model for kids in his Olney neighborhood, often playing sports or PlayStation games with them. It was in 2011, shortly before the 23-year-old, who went by “BJ,” graduated from Fels […]
Heartache lingers for Michael Corbin, 29, years after death
Protective. Adventurous. Kind. Funny. Artistic. When speaking about Michael Corbin, his mother and sister use these words to paint a picture of the 29-year-old, who also fiercely loved his family. “He used to tell me, ‘Forget all the other girls in the world. The only girls that matter are you, mom, my daughter and grandma,’” […]
Dimere Allen, 19: ‘See! I told you I got a horse’
Dimere Allen used to love it when people didn’t believe he rode horses, which wasn’t exactly a popular activity for those growing up in North Philadelphia. “So people would say, ‘Nah, what are you talking about? You don’t have any horses,’” said his father, Andre Horne. “And so when he’d get home, he’d get his […]
James Walke III, 28, known for his pancakes – and a heart ‘big as the moon’
In February 2016, James Walke III spotted a man lying on the ground down the street from the house he shared with his family in Germantown. He urged his mother, Yullio Robbins, and his stepfather to call 9-1-1 and to come with him to see what they could do to help. Robbins told her son, […]
Haneef Brown, 32, ‘Heart of Gold’
Chef, airplane mechanic and construction worker: these are just a few of the career paths that Haneef Brown dabbled in and aspired to throughout his life. The 32-year-old was working to find his place in the world. His life aspirations shifted frequently, but he was always working towards something. “He flopped in and out on […]
Marcello Robertson, 27, sanitation worker with 4 kids
Marcello Robertson liked to project the image of a daredevil who wasn’t scared to live on the edge, reveling in his fascination with fast cars and motorcycles. But that bit of a wild streak didn’t come out nearly as often as his sensitive side, said his grandmother, Sandra Robertson, who saw Marcello a mere 20 […]
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