Back in the day, Kevin Triplett would put on his Walkman headphones, blast Public Enemy or LL Cool J, and sing, no matter where he was.
“Being on the sub or the bus with him was so embarrassing because he used to sing out loud to the point where I didn’t want to be with him,” his daughter Alicia Forney said with a laugh. “That’s who he was. He would walk down the street and sing.”
Kevin, a custodian for the School District of Philadelphia, didn’t have the easiest path in life. In the 1970s, he became involved in the Valley gang that operated around 24th and Berks, where he grew up. He was shot in the leg at age 16, he was incarcerated, and he battled addiction, but he was always there for Alicia throughout her life, no matter the situation.
He survived tough circumstances that could have taken his life, but Kevin happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time on May 12, 2018. He was at a house in the 1900 block of North Judson Street when he was shot, and he died the next day.
“I always tell people that out of all of the stuff my dad did throughout the years, him getting himself together and being OK and then him relapsing, I kind of always figured he would get hurt but I never thought it would happen like this, that someone would take my dad’s life for no apparent reason,” Alicia said.
Kevin was born Jan. 15, 1959 in Philadelphia. He grew up with six sisters — he was the only boy — and so he was spoiled, Alicia said. He and Alicia’s mother met in the neighborhood and Alicia was their first child together. They also had a son, and Kevin later had another son, but his daughter was the one he relied on most.
“I was a daddy’s girl. I was the closest to my dad,” she said. “I was the one who he called for everything, and he was the one I called for everything.”
She describes her father as kindhearted, rowdy and outspoken, and well respected in the neighborhood. He didn’t hesitate to express his opinion, especially when it came to things he cared about.
He didn’t talk about his younger years very often, and he didn’t use his nickname, “Tokay,” much anymore. But it was still part of him.
“All the way up until his passing, you would hear my dad coming around the corner yelling, ‘Valley up!’” Alicia said.
Kevin was a protector of the family, and he looked out for his loved ones and friends. Gathering with family for holidays and birthdays was important to Kevin, and his standard line when arriving was, “Is it time to eat yet?!”
And when it was time to clean up, he might start an argument so he could leave, Alicia remembered with a smile in her voice.
“The littlest things are the happiest memories,” she said.
Kevin was a people person who left a strong mark on the the individuals and places that meant the most to him. That includes old friends, who still check in with Alicia, and that also includes the neighborhood, where everyone knew him.
“It really messed the whole neighborhood up when my dad passed,” she said. “He had respect from people in the neighborhood, and it wasn’t just people his age. It was the older adults, younger adults, and even the little kids. They called him Uncle Kevin or Uncle Tokay. He was just that type of person.”
No arrests have been made in Kevin’s case. Alicia wishes he had been at his home two blocks away, or just anywhere but that block, on the day of the shooting.
“But,” she said, “God takes us when he’s willing to.”
A reward of up to $20,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Kevin’s murder. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
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Facebook tribute:
RIP to my brother & best friend Kevin Triplett A K A Tokay a 24th & Berks st Valley gang original
