Robert M. “Evy” Cheston III, a Hyatt Hotel sales manager and outdoorsman, died by suicide June 18 at his West River home. He was 27.
“Evy was just such an effervescent, wonderful and seemingly happy young man. He always seemed so upbeat,” said Nelson Coffin, a longtime family friend and former sports editor of the Towson Times. “This tragedy has thrown us all for a loop because we all loved him so dearly.
It’s been so difficult,” Mr. Coffin said. “He was a very genuine person and such a great kid, and we’re going to miss him.
” Robert Murray Cheston III, the son of Robert M. Cheston Jr., a retired insurance executive, and Dr.
Sally B. Cheston, a radiation oncologist, was born in Baltimore and raised at home on the Rhode River. A 2014 graduate of the Key School in Annapolis, he played lacrosse and ran track.
In 2014, he was presented the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association All-Conference Award for lacrosse. Mary M. Truitt, his English teacher, was formerly on the Key School faculty.
“He was just wonderful and whenever he walked into a room, he always wanted everyone around him to feel comfortable,” Ms. Truitt said. “Whenever he smiled, the sun came out.
He was very poetic and he always saw the beauty in things, not the negative,” Ms. Truitt said. “He always had a very poignant take on whatever I was teaching, poetry or novels.
” After graduating from Key, he attended the University of Mississippi. Mr. Cheston began his career in the hosp.