Courtesy Photo | Kashi Lamarr Chavis in an undated photo. Chavis, a Baltimore native and mechanical...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall is mourning the loss of one of its own.
Family, friends, co-workers and joint base leadership gathered Aug. 5 at Memorial Chapel on the Fort Myer portion of JBM-HH to celebrate the life and legacy of Kashi Lamarr Chavis.
Chavis, who served as a mechanical engineer for the Directorate of Public Works, passed away July 26. He was 46.
“On behalf of the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall community, I wish to express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the members of Kashi’s family,” said JBM-HH Commander Col. Mike Henderson during remarks at Chavis’ memorial service. “As we move forward, let us honor Kashi’s memory and remember his valuable contributions to the Directorate of Public Works, to this joint base and to the Army and let us remember the impact and the impression he left on us as co-workers and friends.”
Chavis was born Oct. 16, 1969, in Baltimore and attended Temple University, where he earned his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. Bonsok Escobar, director of the Directorate of Public Works for the joint base, described Chavis as a people person who made friends wherever he went.
“He was almost always happy and quick to give a laugh, even when things weren’t going his way,” said Escobar, adding that at heart Chavis was a dreamer.
“He held several jobs, but his dream job was to be an engineer,” Escobar continued. “He was an extremely creative person, but engineering requires a lot of strict adherence to rules and planning and order. Kashi, however, always liked to think outside the box. He also saw potential in almost everything and everyone.”
Kintar Laskar met Chavis the first day Chavis began work on the joint base in April 2013. Laskar said Chavis often gave him a ride home from work and the two would discuss Chavis’ experiences when he worked in the northeastern United States and Arizona.
“He thought his future was finally turning around in the right direction,” said Laskar. “He was planning and looking to get a home in the near future to share with his wife. He had a lot of enthusiasm and dreamt big for most of the things he would like to happen in his life.”
Ramon Nieves, Chavis’ supervisor at DPW, said Chavis worked on a long list of projects for DPW, including the installation of steam presses at Building 417 on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base; he also replaced an old hot water heater for the Fife and Drum Corps, and repaired the ceiling in the dry storage room at the Fort Myer Officers Club. At the time of his death, Chavis was replacing leaking tanks at National Defense University on the Fort McNair portion of the joint base.
“I have not only lost an employee and team member, but an engineer with great potential,” said Nieves.
Chavis’ co-worker at DPW, Myrtle Bowen, described him as a faith-filled, joyful man who always had a smile on his face.
“As I reflect upon the life of Kashi in DPW, the one thing I will miss the most is his earnest care and concern,” she said. “Yes, we spent hours talking about various projects whether at Fort Myer or Fort McNair; however, in the midst, he would always ask, ‘how are you doing?’”
Lt. Col. Lawrence Dabeck, JBM-HH garrison chaplain, presided over Chavis’ memorial service.
“Kashi always wanted to improve himself and help the organization; he had good ideas on how things might work better,” Dabeck said. “He was talkative and never negative. In short, he’s not only the type of man you want to be around, he’s the type of man we would want to be like. Kashi had a life worth emulating.”
Chavis is survived by his wife, Latoya; parents Leonard and Yvonne; and sister, Dadan.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.14.2015 11:37 |
| Story ID: | 173210 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US |
| Hometown: | BALTIMORE, MD, US |
| Web Views: | 51 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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