Silver Spring FBI Special Agent Dies

Harvey C. Flemister, FBI special agent, died of congestive heart failure on March 18. Flemister served 27 years with the agency.

Update: In Memory of Gregory V. Hamilton

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Gregory V. Hamilton, 62, a huge proponent for veteran’s rights, will be missed in the Silver Spring community. After complications from cancer, Hamilton passed away Saturday, March 10 at home, according to Bill Gray, Montgomery County Commission on Veterans Affairs. “We have lost a strong advocate for our veterans, and a good friend,” Gray said. Hamilton was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 641 in Montgomery County and a member of the County's Commission on Veterans Affairs. He also played an instrumental role in getting legislators in Maryland to designate the day after Thanksgiving Native American Heritage Day.  The community can pay their respects at the viewing on Thursday, March 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hines-…

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Reports: Silver Spring Civil Rights Activist Roscoe Nix Dies

The Gazette newspaper reports that one of the people who helped to desegregate downtown Silver Spring died Wednesday night.

Roscoe Nix, namesake of Roscoe R. Nix Elementary and one of the people responsible for desegregating downtown Silver Spring died at age 90, according to the Gazette.  Nix served on the Montgomery County Board of Education from 1974 to 1978 and was president of the county NAACP from 1980 to 1990. He was also the co-founder of the Montgomery County African American Festival of Academic Excellence, which recognizes African-American students, according to a statement from Montgomery County Public Schools. MCPS named an elementary school near Hillandle for Nix in 2006.  He moved to Riverdale, GA in 2010 and died there on Wednesday, Jan. 4, his daughter told the newspaper. He is survived by his wife, Emma Nix, 95, and daughters Veretta Nix, 58, …

Longtime Silver Spring Doctor Passed away at age 88

Dr. Jason "Jack" Geiger is survived by wife of 66 years.

Jason “Jack” Geiger, of Rockville died at age 88 on Nov. 14  at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. Geiger practiced medicine in Silver Spring for more than 45 years, and is survived by his wife of 66 years, Gertrude Friedman Geiger, five children, ten grandchildren and one great grandchild. Geiger earned a medical degree from George Washington University in 1945 and went on to serve in the U.S. Navy before opening his practice in Silver Spring in 1950. Dr. Geiger served as president of the Maryland chapter of the American Heart Association, as well as the Montgomery County Heart Association. Outside of practicing medicine, Geiger was a docent at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, an amateur aviator and the co-owner of a small airplane.

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Bomb Attack in Afghanistan Kills Silver Spring Resident

Lt. Col. David E. Cabrera volunteered his mental health services.

In Afghanistan, Silver Spring resident Lt. Col. David E. Cabrera, 41, was killed in action by a makeshift bomb along with three fellow service members in late October, according to a Washington Post report. When he left for Afghanistan on September 30, he was the director of social work at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda and did not have to go, his wife August Cabrera said. But he believed that troops needed mental-health services in the field and so he volunteered his time, she added. Cabrera joined the Army’s Medical Service Corps 15 years ago. During his tenure, he was assigned to serve at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, served overseas and in the United States. Navy Capt. Mark Stephens, …

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Missing Man Found Dead; Family to Hold Viewing on Sunday

Manuel Enrique Diaz Gomez, who had recently moved from Wheaton to Silver Spring, was found dead Nov. 6 after his family had reported him missing on Oct. 31.

The family of Manuel Enrique Diaz Gomez will hold a viewing from 2-4 p.m. and from 7-9 p.m. on Nov. 13 at Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring. Gomez, 37, was reported missing Oct. 31. His body was found on Sunday in Hanover and police are investigating it as a homicide. Gomez was staying with family friend Ursula Laureano in Silver Spring just before he went missing, but had been living on Easecrest Drive in Wheaton a few months earlier. Gomez’s mother and one of his brothers traveled from the Dominican Republic, his home country, for the funeral, Laureano said. Another brother came down from Montreal, Canada. Gomez’s son and ex-wife live in New Jersey. Laureano said Gomez was like a brother to her and a “hard-working, friendly person.” …

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