Dylan Wiley Dameron Farrer, 24, of Chesapeake, Virginia, passed away unexpectedly on June 28, 2026, following a car accident.
Born on January 27, 2002, in Norfolk, Dylan leaves behind a community of family, friends, students, and athletes whose lives he shaped in his brief but meaningful time among them.
Dylan graduated from Hickory High School in 2020 and had been working as a teacher’s assistant with Chesapeake Public Schools while serving as the wrestling coach at Indian River Middle School.
He was on a clear and purposeful path toward becoming a teacher, a goal those who knew him say suited him perfectly.
Alongside his father, John, Dylan coached baseball at Oscar Smith High School and later at Indian River Middle School. It was in those dugouts and on those fields where Dylan made some of his most lasting impressions.
Parents, players, and fellow coaches described a young man who understood that coaching was never really about the game itself. It was about the kids wearing the uniforms.
Fellow coach and parent Christopher Pandola shared a story that captures who Dylan was at his core. Just days before the accident, Dylan told him that he and his father had decided to name his son Chase as a team captain for the upcoming season.
That same afternoon, Dylan encouraged Ryder, a fifth grader uncertain about joining middle school baseball, and sent him home buzzing with excitement about the future.
That ability to read a young person, find what they needed, and deliver it without hesitation was a gift Dylan carried naturally.
A Friend, a Coach, and Someone Who Always Stood Up for Others
Beyond the fields and gyms, Dylan was simply someone people could count on. Those who knew him described a person who would give you the shirt off his back, who stood up for those being overlooked, and who could connect with anyone from a young child to an elderly neighbor.
He was goofy and warm, loyal and compassionate. His coworker Michael Fuller, who described Dylan as a friend, expressed disbelief that so many in Chesapeake are sitting with him right now. Dylan was only 25 years old, Fuller wrote, and the words just would not come.
Dylan is survived by his parents, John Dameron Farrer and Jennifer Kay Grubbs Farrer; his sisters, Ashley Pothier and Harvest Lee; his brother, Wiley Farrer; his niece, Millie Pothier; and his grandmothers and great-grandmother.
A celebration of Dylan’s life will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at Briggs Funeral Home and Crematory, located at 1748 Battlefield Boulevard South in Chesapeake. The family will receive friends the evening before, Monday, July 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the same location.
Instead of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be directed to the Dylan Farrer Memorial Fund through TMC Funding, which will support youth athletic scholarships in Chesapeake.
A GoFundMe campaign organized by his sister Harvest, has also raised nearly $10,000 to help cover funeral costs and memorial services.
Dylan made an impression on everyone he coached, taught, or simply sat beside. Chesapeake will not forget him.
