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Joe's obituary

Joseph (Joe) Andrew Chaney passed away on November 17, 2020 at age 28, after a struggle with depression. He will be remembered by family and friends as a son, brother, cousin, grandson, boyfriend, and friend with a kind, compassionate heart full of love for the people and things he cared about most.

Joe was born on December 17, 1991 to Cynthia and Mark. He was their first born child, soon to be followed by his sister Natalie. Joe attended Washington Episcopal School for middle school and St. Andrew's Episcopal School for high school. In school, Joe developed a love for music and for language. He played the saxophone, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar, and he was involved with the school's jazz band. He won the music prize at graduation. He also had a talent for language and would often receive compliments on his beautiful pronunciation of French language, for which he had a natural ear. Joe graduated from UMBC with a degree in psychology, and had been taking courses in computer science while teaching others about personal fitness.

Anyone who knew Joe knew that he was extremely passionate. He had quirky things that he loved--like Peach Snapple (he used to write the company letters as a child), cooking and dry-aging his own steaks (the best in town), and gadgets/tech of all kinds. But his two biggest passions in his life were dogs and fitness. Growing up, he loved nothing more than his family's beagle, Duck, and would spend all of his time with him. He would even do his homework on the floor so that he could sit with Duck. As he got older, he became passionate about dog rescue and training. He helped to adopt his family dog Pepper, and then adopted his own dog, Maya, with his girlfriend Nikki. Joe was well known around town for spending hours walking Maya and training her to do tricks. As someone who struggled with depression, animals brought Joe immense joy in life. Joe was also known for his incredible discipline with personal fitness and went to the gym every day without fail. He encouraged others to incorporate fitness into their lives and loved being a personal trainer.

Joe loved spending time with his family and enjoyed cooking gourmet meals for them on special occasions. Those who know Joe also know that some of his fondest memories were made spending time with his girlfriend of four years, Nikki.

Joe's celebration of life is currently postponed until it is safe to gather without high risk of spreading COVID-19, but more information will be forthcoming when COVID-19 community spread rates decrease. If you'd like to commemorate Joe's life prior to this event, you may feel free to do so by sharing a memory or photo on this page, or by writing to his family (contact Natalie for Cynthia & Mark's address).

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Memories & condolences

I'm so sorry for the loss of Joe.  I first met Joe when at the gym and we would often get together for lunch after a l…

I'm so sorry for the loss of Joe.  I first met Joe when at the gym and we would often get together…

I'm so sorry for the loss of Joe.  I first met Joe when at the g…

I worked with Joe a few years ago, and was deeply saddened to hear the news. I enjoyed talking with him in the office …
I worked with Joe a few years ago, and was deeply saddened to hear the news. I enjoyed talking wit…
I worked with Joe a few years ago, and was deeply saddened to he…
We spent the whole day chasing after a sunset for one picture that wasn’t even that good
We spent the whole day chasing after a sunset for one picture that wasn’t even that good
We spent the whole day chasing after a sunset for one picture th…

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Joseph "Joe" Chaney