Lafayette Kelly Champ was born on May 5, 1934 to the union of Jessie Bernard Champ and Inez Kelly Champ; he was the younger of two sons born to this union and was preceded in death by his brother, Jessie Bernard Champ. Lafayette grew up in the Benning Heights neighborhood of northeast Washington, D.C., where as a young boy he delivered newspapers. He attended D.C. public schools and graduated from Dunbar High School, class of 1951. As a young adult, Lafayette worked at the old Garfield Hospital and later he worked at the Georgetown Hospital as an orderly. During his tenure at Georgetown Hospital, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. After a short stint in the army, Lafayette was discharged and began working at the Walter Reed Medical Center which began his government career. Lafayette’s excellent memory, his ability to absorb information quickly and his warmth and kindness with patients and fellow employees was recognized and he was soon promoted to work in the surgical suites as a surgical technician. Lafayette quickly learned the names of all the instruments required for each type of surgery and he prepared the operatory for every specialty surgery. He was later promoted to Chief of Surgical supply, but he was not being compensated for the level of responsibility at which he was performing. Lafayette then decided to enter the field of data processing and he enrolled in a course at the Graduate School of Agriculture. The teacher of the first course he took was so impressed with Lafayette’s quick and thorough understanding of the lectures that he hired Lafayette before the end of the course. Lafayette began working at Health, Education and Welfare later known as Health and Human Services, from which he retired as a Computer Systems Analyst in 1988.
Lafayette always loved to sing; and in his younger years he sang “Do Wop” with various groups in the D.C. area but found his true passion when he began singing gospel music in the 1990’s with a group known as the “Singing Deacons” and in his later years he sang with “The Mighty Sons of Faith”. Lafayette was a soft spoken, kind and gentle person who always gave 100% to any project or endeavor. His smile was infectious and people easily warmed up to him and he quickly made friends and put people at ease. It was the period of gospel music that Lafayette accepted Christ as his Lord and savior.
At the height of the “AIDS” crisis, Lafayette volunteered as an AIDS buddy and he transported those stricken with the disease to doctors appointments and counseling sessions even when some friends and family members would not and he received numerous awards and citations for his acts of kindness.
Lafayette leaves to cherish his memory a devoted friend of almost 57 years, Thomas S. Chase, three nephews, Jesse B. Champ, Jr., Brian Champ, Barry Champ and his wife Andrea, and a host of relatives and friends.
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