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Obituaries
Future Dentist Olivia Stephens Dies At 26 With Maryland Graduation Approaching Future Dentist Olivia Stephens Dies At 26 With Maryland Graduation Approaching Future Dentist Olivia Stephens Dies At 26 With Maryland Graduation Approaching
Future Dentist Olivia Stephens Dies At 26 With Maryland Graduation Approaching Olivia Stephens was almost there. The 26-year-old Maryland woman had spent years working toward becoming a dentist, a goal that carried her from a neuroscience lab to the dental chair and eventually into her fourth and final year at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. Stephens, a Damascus native, died last week surrounded by loved ones, according to her family, leaving behind a future that once seemed close enough to touch. “We should have been looking forward to her graduation and celebrating the beginning of her career,” her family wrote in a fundraiser created in her memory.…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Coach, Umpire Steve Reynolds Remembered For Fostering Pets After Deadly Maryland Hit-Run Coach, Umpire Steve Reynolds Remembered For Fostering Pets After Deadly Maryland Hit-Run Coach, Umpire Steve Reynolds Remembered For Fostering Pets After Deadly Maryland Hit-Run
Coach, Umpire Steve Reynolds Remembered For Fostering Pets After Deadly Maryland Hit-Run Steve Reynolds spent decades giving back to the community he called home. Now that community is stepping up for the family he left behind. The 54-year-old Severna Park man died on Sunday, Oct. 4, hours after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing Ritchie Highway in Anne Arundel County, police confirmed on Monday. Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department were called shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Severna Park, where Reynolds was struck by an SUV while in a crosswalk at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Magothy Bridge Road. He was rushed …

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies 40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies 40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies
40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies Charles Mades spent more than four decades wearing a badge. The longtime Maryland lawman and former Washington County sheriff died on Thursday, Oct. 1, prompting tributes from across the region and an order to lower flags in his honor. Mades served as Washington County sheriff for 20 years, from 1986 through 2006, following a 25-year career with the Maryland State Police. He retired from the state police as a sergeant before beginning the next chapter of a law enforcement career that would span more than four decades. The Washington County Sheriff's Office announced his death on Friday, r…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
'Our Children Were His World': Family Remembers Christopher Serrano After Workplace Murder 'Our Children Were His World': Family Remembers Christopher Serrano After Workplace Murder 'Our Children Were His World': Family Remembers Christopher Serrano After Workplace Murder
'Our Children Were His World': Family Remembers Christopher Serrano After Workplace Murder Just days before Christopher Serrano was killed at work in Virginia, the 33-year-old father was celebrating one of the moments his family says meant most to him: his son's 10th birthday. Serrano, of Manassas, was one of two men killed in the Tuesday, Sept. 29 workplace shooting at United Rentals that shattered two families and sent police on a multistate search for the suspected gunman. But to those who loved Serrano, the headlines about what happened inside that workplace tell only how his life ended, not who he was. He was a father of two whose children were his world, a devoted partner …

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Veteran, Championship Coach Brian Parham, UMD Fixture, Dies At 57 After Sudden Diagnosis Veteran, Championship Coach Brian Parham, UMD Fixture, Dies At 57 After Sudden Diagnosis Veteran, Championship Coach Brian Parham, UMD Fixture, Dies At 57 After Sudden Diagnosis
Veteran, Championship Coach Brian Parham, UMD Fixture, Dies At 57 After Sudden Diagnosis For more than 25 years, Brian Patrick Parham was one of the people quietly looking out for others. Then everything changed in a matter of weeks. The Maryland military veteran, championship coach, husband and father from Waldorf died on Wednesday, Sept. 23, following what the University of Maryland Police Department described as a "very brief but courageous battle" with a recently diagnosed illness. Parham was 57. His father-in-law, Michael McNair, said Parham died from cancer, leaving behind his wife, Traci, and children who knew him far differently than the thousands of people who crossed…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
'I Could Give Him 150 Years': Judge Confronts Driver After Deadly Crash With Maryland Mother 'I Could Give Him 150 Years': Judge Confronts Driver After Deadly Crash With Maryland Mother 'I Could Give Him 150 Years': Judge Confronts Driver After Deadly Crash With Maryland Mother
'I Could Give Him 150 Years': Judge Confronts Driver After Deadly Crash With Maryland Mother Even 150 years behind bars couldn't give two families back what they lost on a Maryland road. That's how a judge described the limits of any punishment before sentencing Corey Jermaine Kane to 15 years in prison for the July 2025 head-on crash in La Plata that killed Teenona Shavon Huggins and Dionee Monae Tyree. “I could give Mr. Kane 150 years, and it wouldn’t ease the pain or help in that regard,” Circuit Court Judge Karen Abrams said. New details released by the Charles County State's Attorney's Office show what led to that moment in court. Kane was driving west in the 9900 block of C…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Phillies Legend Bill Giles, Baseball Visionary Behind Phanatic, Dies At 92 Phillies Legend Bill Giles, Baseball Visionary Behind Phanatic, Dies At 92 Phillies Legend Bill Giles, Baseball Visionary Behind Phanatic, Dies At 92
Phillies Legend Bill Giles, Baseball Visionary Behind Phanatic, Dies At 92 Few people left phingerprints on the Philadelphia Phillies quite like Bill Giles. Giles, the longtime Phillies executive, former team president and part-owner whose influence stretched well beyond Philadelphia, died at his home in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Sept. 25, the team announced. He was 92. For more than half a century, Giles helped shape what Phillies baseball looked, sounded and felt like. He joined the organization in 1969 as vice president of business operations and was promoted to executive vice president three years later, according to the Phillies. Along the way, Gil…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
'We'll Take It From Here': St. Leonard Fire, Flight Paramedic Legend John Hassler Dies 'We'll Take It From Here': St. Leonard Fire, Flight Paramedic Legend John Hassler Dies 'We'll Take It From Here': St. Leonard Fire, Flight Paramedic Legend John Hassler Dies
'We'll Take It From Here': St. Leonard Fire, Flight Paramedic Legend John Hassler Dies John Hassler spent a lifetime answering the call, on the ground and in the air. The longtime Maryland first responder, founding member of the St. Leonard Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company and former Maryland State Police flight paramedic died on Thursday, Sept. 24, the department announced.  For decades, Hassler's name was tied to emergency service across Calvert County and Southern Maryland. The 84-year-old was a founding and life member of St. Leonard Volunteer Fire & Rescue, where he went on to serve as president and deputy chief. His impact stretched well beyond Company …

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Bob Pettit Dies: NBA's First MVP Remembered As 'Gentle Soul' Bob Pettit Dies: NBA's First MVP Remembered As 'Gentle Soul' Bob Pettit Dies: NBA's First MVP Remembered As 'Gentle Soul'
Bob Pettit Dies: NBA's First MVP Remembered As 'Gentle Soul' The NBA's first Most Valuable Player and one of basketball's most dominant power forwards has died. Bob Pettit died on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 93 years old. His alma mater, Louisiana State University, announced his death on Thursday, Sept. 24. In a statement to WAFB 9News in Baton Rouge, Pettit's family said he died "very peacefully at his home" in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. "He was the most amazing father," the statement read. "The most kind, humble and gentle soul. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and we will miss him dearly." The Baton Rouge native starred for h…

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by Chris Spiker
Obituaries
‘Once A Lion, Always A Lion’: All-County Lacrosse Player, 18, Killed In Maryland Crash ‘Once A Lion, Always A Lion’: All-County Lacrosse Player, 18, Killed In Maryland Crash ‘Once A Lion, Always A Lion’: All-County Lacrosse Player, 18, Killed In Maryland Crash
‘Once A Lion, Always A Lion’: All-County Lacrosse Player, 18, Killed In Maryland Crash Kaio Cypress had only been out of high school for three months. The 18-year-old All-County lacrosse player and recent Howard High graduate was killed shortly before 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, when his car left a Maryland roadway and struck a tree. Cypress, an Elkridge resident and member of Howard's Class of 2026, was driving a 2013 Nissan Juke north on Ilchester Road in Ellicott City around 9:48 p.m. when the vehicle veered off the road between Jeans Way and Bonnie Branch Road, according to Howard County Police. Why remains unclear. The Nissan struck a tree, and Cypress, who was alone …

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Maryland Father Who ‘Showed Up For The People Around Him’ Dies Suddenly At 38 Maryland Father Who ‘Showed Up For The People Around Him’ Dies Suddenly At 38 Maryland Father Who ‘Showed Up For The People Around Him’ Dies Suddenly At 38
Maryland Father Who ‘Showed Up For The People Around Him’ Dies Suddenly At 38 Johnathan Speed was the kind of person who showed up. For his family. For his friends. And, most importantly, for the two boys who knew him simply as Dad. Now, a Maryland family is mourning the sudden loss of the 38-year-old father of two, who died after suffering a heart attack earlier this month, according to his family. Speed died at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore earlier this month, leaving his loved ones stunned by a loss they never saw coming, his cousin Daryl Graham said. At the center of Speed's life were his sons, Jovanni and Jeremiah. Photos shared by the family capture that part …

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Competitive Eating Star 'Eater X' Dies At 49: 'Lived His Life On His Own Terms' Competitive Eating Star 'Eater X' Dies At 49: 'Lived His Life On His Own Terms' Competitive Eating Star 'Eater X' Dies At 49: 'Lived His Life On His Own Terms'
Competitive Eating Star 'Eater X' Dies At 49: 'Lived His Life On His Own Terms' A Connecticut native known as an elite competitive eater with a flair as bold as his signature face paint has died. Timothy "Eater X" Janus died from complications related to a long battle with cancer on Wednesday, Sept. 16, Major League Eating announced. The Simsbury native was 49 years old. Janus spent 12 years in competitive eating from 2006 to 2018. He rose as high as No. 2 in the world rankings behind all-time great Joey Chestnut. Fans instantly recognized "Eater X" from his painted Viking-style face on the Fourth of July stage at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. During introducti…

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by Chris Spiker