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Sorrow strikes second time

Severn household loses 7-year-old

April 11, 2008|By Justin Fenton , Sun reporter

Steven, a first-grader at Richard Henry Lee Elementary School, enjoyed cars, whether it was his dad's truck - which he referred to as "Daddy's hot rod" - or playing with his own Matchbox cars. He was a "happy-go-lucky kid," a thin child with boundless energy who liked to go to work on weekends with Ron Titchenell, who is not his biological father but had raised him.

Grief counselors went from classroom to classroom at Richard Henry Lee yesterday, letting children ask questions or express feelings. Faculty there contributed $1,000 from a vending machine fund to help the family with funeral expenses.

"Steven ... had a heart of gold and nothing made him happier than a hug," said his first-grade teacher, Pat Radford, and kindergarten teacher, Jane Cogswell, in a joint statement released by school officials. "He will be deeply missed. God always takes the sweetest ones first. Look over our angel."

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Debbie Smith mused that maybe the house and property are cursed; though their families are now joined in their grief, Smith said she was at a loss for reassuring words for Titchenell: "I don't know how to help them, because I'm still dealing with the same thing."

justin.fenton@baltsun.com

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