Obituaries 319
Lylliana Mendoza, 35, dreamed of a better life
Lylliana Mendoza was always smiling and laughing, but her sister said it was to hide her pain. Lily, as everyone called her, had been a victim of domestic violence at the hands of the man she lived with in Fairhill for about three years, according to her sister, Alexandra Mendoza. During the summer of 2017, […]
Kelvin Ray, 35, family man and firefighter
After nine years as a firefighter and medic with the Philadelphia Fire Department, Kelvin Ray was ready to make a change. “He wanted his own business,” said Taylor Kelly, his girlfriend of four years. “That was his goal. That was his dream. He didn’t want to work for anyone.” Kelvin had enrolled in a building […]
Nasir Debnam, 21: ‘My son wanted to change,’ mom says
Nasir Debnam was an outgoing guy who loved to dance and joke around. He enjoyed playing basketball and riding dirt bikes, but but most of all, he loved his friends. If Nasir loved you, his mother Schwana Debnam said, it means he saw something special in you. So when he lost two close friends to […]
Martin Alicea, 29, a family man who had coffee with his mother every morning
Every morning, Luis Martin Alicea would go to his parents’ house for coffee. He loved how his mother Elsa made it, his cousin Jessie Alejandro-Cruz said. Now, Elsa has continued this tradition, but in a different way. Martin, a talented baseball player, music producer and father of five, had just gotten a haircut on the […]
Ryan Dillon, 17, a Mummer who dreamed of being a comedic chef
The above image, Rydill, was created by artist Elena Cipolia as part of the 2021-2022 Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition. ______________________________________________________________________________ From the time Ryan Dillon could walk, he was a comedian. He would do anything, including physical comedy stunts, to make people laugh. He also “ate like it was his job,” his mother […]
Raheem Brown, 28, a loving father of five with 10 siblings of his own
Raheem Brown had a lot of love in his life. He was the father of five children and he doted on them. He was also engaged to a woman he had been with for nine years, and he was one of 11 siblings in a tight-knit family. He’ll never be able to finally get married […]
Tyree Bates, 14, was all about basketball
Tyree Bates had a lot to look forward to: Turning 15, getting more playing time on his high school basketball team, starting 10th grade. But instead of cheering him on as he dunks a basketball, his family and friends are maintaining a memorial for him at 4th and Susquehanna in Kensington, the spot where he […]
DeAndre Bing, 17, college-bound senior who took a selfie with his mom every morning
Tiffany Williams didn’t think she would be a mother. When she was about 17, she became pregnant but lost the baby. After that, she was told she wouldn’t be able to sustain a healthy pregnancy in the future, but about eight years later, she found out that wasn’t true. DeAndre, her only child, was born […]
Carl J. Burgess, 35, ‘character’ who loved Disney
“Disney, Disney, Disney,” was always on the mind of Carl J. Burgess. A trip to the theme park is a dream come true for many people — and even at 35 years old, Carl was no exception. “He loved Goofy. He had a Goofy hat,” Carl’s mother, Valerie Burgess, remembered. “He loved all of the […]
Linden “Shorn” Henry, 34, a Jamaican-born car fanatic and proud father
Shaquanda Taylor was standing outside with her girlfriends in West Oak Lane when she caught the eye of Linden Henry. “He was driving past and spotted me, and we just started talking,” she said. Eventually they had a son together, Jaylyn, in 2006 when Shaquanda was 17 and Linden, who went by the nickname “Shorn,” […]
Paris Wright, 21, never got to meet his daughter
Paris Wright was looking forward to being a father, but it would never come to be. On Jan. 29, 2014, at five months pregnant, his girlfriend’s water broke and she lost their baby, whom they planned to name Paris. “Even though he was young, I was excited because he was excited,” his mother, Crystal Wright, […]
Shelton Hayes, 39, a marketing pro who was working on a men’s clothing line
Shelton T. Hayes “came into the world driven,” his mother Rhonda Gore said. He was a marketing professional who also spent time working in the entertainment industry. And, at the time of his death, on March 15, 2018 — three days after turning 39 — he was in the process of getting his men’s clothing […]
Bakeer “Bok” Green, 34, a beloved West Philly basketball coach
Kids, basketball and his West Philadelphia community all played major roles in the life of Bakeer “Bok” Green. Born Jan. 23, 1984 in Philadelphia, Bakeer grew up in West Philly. A turning point in his life came in ninth grade, when he was sent to Glen Mills, a residential school for at-risk boys in Delaware […]
Dominique Oglesby, 23, a Penn State senior who loved to sing
At birth, Dominique Kimani Oglesby was diagnosed with a condition called laryngomalacia, which is a narrowing of the air passage that causes a “floppy voice box,” her mother Danielle Shaw-Oglesby explained. “They said she was not really going to talk louder than a whisper,” she said. Dominique underwent surgeries at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and […]
Juanyea Kennedy, 21, whose smile could light up a room
Maria Terry remembers Juanyea Kennedy well, even though they only went to school together until fourth grade. “He was really a nice person. He had a nice personality and a really bright smile that would just light up the room,” Terry, 22, recalled. Though Juanyea went to a different school after the two attended elementary […]
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