Stephen Young Akinlotan

Stephen Young Akinlotan was born to the parents of Tajudeen Akinlotan and Elizabeth Oko in Washington, D.C, on August 30, 2003. Entering into a blended family, he leaves to mourn his stepmother, Faith Akinlotan, and his stepfather, Ebuka Oguanya. He also leaves to mourn his seven brothers and two sisters. While living in Maryland and Virginia, Stephen created friendships with classmates, close friends of the family, and neighbors. Stephen loved to engage with all of his siblings and would help his parents with them whenever asked. He began his education at Fort Hunt Elementary School in Alexandria, VA. In 2014, he attended Sandburg Middle School for a year before transferring to Arundel Middle School in Odenton, MD. In 2018, Stephen started his first job working at a crab/seafood restaurant where he took pride in working hard and earning his own money. While working there, the staff would commend him on his work ethic and his flexibility to work extra hours . During his free time he would play video games with his close friends and older brother. Every summer, he would look forward to using his season pass to Six Flags to hang out with his older siblings and friends all day. Stephen loved to eat authentic African food that his grandmother, Gbonjubola, would prepare for him daily. The two of them would sit in silence and partake in the cuisine together, although not much dialogue was conducted while they ate together, the unspoken love between the two was there. Once a week he would surprise his grandmother with a crab cake, which allowed them to again have time to sit in the presence of each other. Throughout his schooling, he showed a great liking for science and math. Stephen and his brother Joshua participated in karate together after school, but they both learned quickly that this was not a sport for them and decided to engage in more academic extracurricular activities. Stephen loved to play chess at the local library and attend STEM events that demonstrated his strength in his kinesthetic learning. During Lego Club, he would create some of the best creations than his peers, often the librarian and observers would be super impressed and commend him for his work. Although he was not very expressive, I would see the pride in his eyes. Stephen was a very smart kid. The first time he took his SAT’s which was in the 10th grade, he scored a 1130. It was overheard him telling his older siblings, “I scored higher than your first time”. Which was some awesome bragging rights. The siblings would often strive to have the best report card to earn extra incentives. They enjoyed friendly competition. After graduating from high school in 2021, Stephen decided to enlist in the Army. He joined the Army in July 2021. Stephen was assigned as an infantryman of the 3rd Mobile Brigade, also known as Rakkasans. His training was conducted at the Fort Benning location, and once he completed training, he went to Fort Campbell in January of 2022. While serving in the Army, Stephen and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team completed a rotation in Estonia. He returned safely to Fort Campbell and resumed duties there. Stephen received several decorations and awards that included the Air Assault Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal. Stephen took pride in wearing his uniform, assuming responsibility to support and protect his country, while making his family extremely proud of him. Stephen was posthumously promoted to Sergeant. Although it may seem his life was cut short and he had so much more ahead of him to complete, he touched everyone he interacted with greatly. He will forever be missed and cherished. We would like to thank our family, friends, coworkers, and military family for all the love and support that was given during this extremely difficult time. Thank you for the beautiful honoring of Stephen throughout this process from all the military branches, fire departments, police departments, other law enforcement agencies, the Army personnel both in Kentucky and Maryland along with the Freedom Riders, here in Maryland. We would not have been able to make it through this tough time without the abundance of prayers and support.