K. Stroman-Cady, 22, young activist

Kevin Lamond Stroman-Cady, 22, of Philadelphia, a former Variety Club young ambassador, died Monday of complications from cerebral palsy.

Mr. Stroman-Cady spent his early years at Voorhees Pediatric Hospital, where he was placed by his parents because of his medical needs. At age 5, he came under the care of Best Nest Inc., a child-welfare agency in Philadelphia for special-needs children. He was adopted through that agency at age 8 by Roslyn Cady.

Cady said that a few years earlier she had adopted his younger brother, Trevor, co-parenting them with her companion, Barbara Revere.

Mr. Stroman-Cady attended Widener Memorial School from second to 12th grades, earning a high school diploma in 2007, his mother said.

He was a member of First United Methodist Church of Germantown and participated in activities there. He was also a member of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Reach committee, a program to help special-needs teens transition to adult programs; Easter Seals, where he enjoyed its day camp, teen social club and respite weekends, and the Variety Club.

About a decade ago, Mr. Stroman-Cady was selected to represent the Variety Club for a year, attending fund-raisers and events. It was a role he relished, his mother said, recalling his enthusiasm at the club's annual Gold Heart Ball.

"He danced the night away in his wheelchair," Roslyn Cady said.

In addition to his mother and brother and Revere, Mr. Stroman-Cady's survivors include two sisters.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church of Germantown, 6023 Germantown Ave., where friends may call from 10. Burial will follow in the Ivy Hill Cemetery, 1201 Easton Rd.