Knight Foundation, Flickr Creative Commons
Marlowe Stoudamire.
Marlowe Stoudamire, a Detroit community leader and entrepreneur, died of the coronavirus on Tuesday, officials say. He was 43.
Stoudamire's the first publicly identified coronavirus-related death in Michigan. According to officials, he had no underlying health issues.
“An amazing man, husband, friend and one of the best dads that I have ever met lost his life to COVID-19 today,” Bob Riney of Henry Ford Health System said in a statement. “Marlowe was a devoted Detroit advocate who would light up any room with his ideas and strategic thinking. He was tireless in his love and care for others. My wife and I are heartbroken for this devastating loss. We will continue the fight of this terrible pandemic in his honor.”
Stoudamire served as a Community & Diversity Manager for Henry Ford Health Systems, and later, as project director of international business strategy. He also founded the integrated marketing firm 2050 Partners, Inc., and more recently, he led the Detroit Historical Society’s award-winning and ground-breaking Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward project.
Stoudamire is survived by his wife, Valencia, and two young children.
On Tuesday, it was also announced that WDIV-TV morning news anchor Evrod Cassimy had tested positive for the coronavirus.
His last day of work was Tuesday, March 17. On Wednesday, he says he started feeling "an excruciating pain all over my body, crippling pain, that I couldn’t even roll over in bed," he told WDIV. On Monday, he went to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He says he is recovering.
“I just thank God that I’m going to be OK,” he told the station. “I send a prayer to people who are really battling this, to those who lost loved ones because this is a nasty, nasty virus.”
So far, 24 people in Michigan have died from the coronavirus.
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