Diamanté Melik Brown

Diamante’ Melik Brown, affectionately known as “D”, was born on December 16, 1998, to Tina Brown and Preston Graves Jr. On Sunday, August 8, 2021, God picked a beautiful flower to begin a beautiful journey in heaven.

Diamante’ was a young man that was very well-known in the Williamsburg and York County communities. To know him was definitely to love him. Although the odds were against him as a black male growing up in Highland Park, he accomplished much in his twenty-two years. At the age of six, he found a love for basketball and played for the NBL, AAU, Lafayette High school, and Jamestown High school teams. In his senior year at Jamestown, he helped his team to go to the state championship. He was very proud of this accomplishment. Diamante’ graduated from Jamestown High School and continued his basketball career at Chowan University.

Although he loved basketball, his greatest loves were his beautiful mother and daughter. On July 13, 2020, his beloved daughter Ja’Ahni Cejai Brown was born to Diamante’ and Cejaisa Jahcori Russell. He loved his daughter immensely and was an excellent father to her until she departed this life on December 5, 2020. Diamante’ also had a great love for his family, especially his grandmothers.  His presence will be sorely missed by his family and all who knew and loved him.

He is forever loved and survived by his mother, Tina Brown; father, Preston Graves Jr.; bonus dad, Marlon Hamilton; grandparents, Gloria Brown, Calvin Harris (Debra), Justina Tyler (Quinton), Preston Graves Sr. (Charlene), and Joel Crump (LaSonia); maternal great-grandmother, Hallis Brown; siblings, Jaylin Horne, Daryan Hawkins, Jaylen and Prynceton Graves, Ayden Saunders, Predasia, Jemaica, Prescious, and Jermani Graves; aunts, Shanise Gray (Mel), Raquel Harris, Shannon Graves, and Jowanna Crump; uncles, Marlon Brown and Gary Crump; godparents, Cheryl Parrot and Mitchell Tyler; nephew, Xailyn Cunningham; a host of special brothers, sisters, cousins, other relatives, and friends.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Monday, August 16, 2021, at Bethel Restoration Center.  Livestream will be available at the start of the service.  Mr. Brown may be viewed from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday in the funeral home. 

Professional services entrusted to the staff of Whiting’s Funeral Home, 7005 Pocahontas Trail, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185. 757-229-3011 whitingsfuneralhome.com

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