Local
Prominent D.C. Realtor, avid traveler Kurt Rieschick dies at 50
McWilliams Ballard executive was longtime city resident
Longtime D.C. resident Kurt Rieschick, who served as a vice president for the local real estate company McWilliams Ballard and who along with his husband traveled extensively to international destinations, including their favorite city of Paris, died at home on Jan. 16 of a heart attack. He was 50.
David Klimas, his husband and partner of 22 years, and Rieschick’s sister, Jacqueline Costell, said Rieschick appeared to be in excellent health and had no advanced signs of heart disease other than the fact that his father died of a heart attack at the age of 52 in 1998.
Klimas’s posting of the news of his husband’s passing on Facebook drew an immediate outpouring of messages of sympathy and admiration for Rieschick from dozens of people who knew him, including many friends and business associates.
“Today is my saddest day,” Klimas wrote in his Facebook post. “My beloved. My person. My number one. My best friend. My husband died early this morning from a massive heart attack,” Klimas wrote. “I will never be the same. I will never forget him. He was my life.”
Klimas said he and Rieschick had vowed to get married as soon as same-sex marriage became legal, and he said the couple did so when D.C.’s same-sex marriage law took effect in 2010.
Rieschick was raised in Columbia, Md. His sister said he graduated from Columbia’s Hammond High School in 1988 shortly before he attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Prior to beginning his real estate career with McWilliams Ballard, Rieschick worked from 1996 to 2000 as a product training manager for the Bureau of National Affairs or BNA, the then D.C.-based company that published newsletters and research reports on business, government, and academic related topics.
Rieschick traveled throughout the U.S. selling and teaching BNA subscribers about various BNA electronic publications and services as part of his responsibilities with the company, his LinkedIn page says.
He began his affiliation with McWilliams Ballard in 2000, according to a career summary of Rieschick’s tenure with the real estate company published on its website. The write-up says Rieschick had experience “across most real estate product lines, selling condominiums, lofts, townhouses, and unique style row homes.”
It says Rieschick, who had the title of vice president, managed “all aspects of the sales process from hands-on sales, marketing, broker outreach, sales reporting” and other aspects of the sales process. The write-up says he sold properties in the price range of $200,000 to over $2.5 million.
Klimas, who also works as a vice president for McWilliams Ballard, said that at the time of his passing Rieschick was acting as the lead sales agent for a new high-rise condominium apartment project near the Washington Nationals baseball stadium called Kennedy on L at 37 L St., S.E.
“We did everything together,” Klimas told the Washington Blade. “We worked together at the same company for the last 21 years. We traveled together. We did French lessons. We went traveling throughout the world,” said Klimas, who noted that Rieschick was especially fond of traveling to Paris and France after the two became fluent in French.
According to Klimas, his husband was a “huge” fan of Madonna.
“We saw Madonna around the world,” Klimas said. “We followed her concerts, every last one of them. And we saw her in Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Miami. We loved to travel. We traveled extensively,” he said in recounting Rieschick’s love for travel and for attending Madonna concerts.
Costell said she and her family, including her and Kurt’s parents, were supportive of his being gay and she, her husband, and her two kids welcomed Klimas as part of the family.
“I personally became a huge advocate for gay rights,” she said. “And then when I got married and had children, I wanted my kids to grow up with that love that I gave to my brother and all of his friends,” she said.
Costell selected her brother and Klimas to be godfathers to both of her children. At her request, the two attended and participated in her daughter’s and son’s baptismal ceremonies on separate occasions at a Catholic church in Baltimore with the full approval of the priest in charge, Costell said. The two kids were about three months old at the time of their respective baptisms in 2005 and 2007, with her brother and Klimas holding the two babies during part of the ceremony.
As a dedicated uncle, Rieschick, with his partner and husband, Klimas, at his side, stopped by her home nearly every holiday, she said. “I mean every Christmas, every single birthday, Easter – every holiday,” she said, that Rieschick and Klimas came over for a visit.
Costell said her brother’s untimely death has prompted her to consider taking action to encourage all public buildings and residential apartment buildings to have on hand a defibrillator, a medical device used to administer an electric shock to the heart to resuscitate someone whose heart stops from a heart attack.
Klimas told the Blade he attempted to resuscitate Rieschick after calling 911. He said emergency medical workers arrived in about 10 minutes of his call, but they were unable to save his husband’s life.
He and Costell said a highly restricted funeral viewing was tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22 or Jan. 23 at a Northwest D.C. funeral home. Costell said the downtown D.C. lockdown related to the presidential inauguration had as of Tuesday prevented her brother’s body from being transported from the D.C. Medical Examiner’s office to the funeral home.
Meanwhile, due to COVID-related restrictions, the funeral home has said it would not allow more than eight people to attend the viewing, which was to take place before Rieschick was to be cremated.
Klimas said he is planning a “huge” celebration of Rieschick’s life sometime this summer, with the hope that the COVID vaccine distribution will have lessened the epidemic to the point where a large in-person gathering can be held.
“It’s going to be a MadonnaRama party and it will be held at Number 9,” said Klimas in referring to the D.C. gay bar on P Street, N.W. near Logan Circle. Klimas said Number 9 co-owner John Guggenmos, a friend of his and Rieschick’s, has agreed to stage the MadonnaRama event like the ones Guggenmos has put on at his clubs in the past. Among other things, it includes playing audio and video recordings of Madonna’s performances, Klimas said.
“I’m going to have it catered and have a free bar and hire people to sing,” Klimas said. “It’s going to be a huge party for everybody in honor of Kurt.”
Klimas and Costell, who said her family will participate in the memorial celebration, said they will announce the date and location for the event as soon as they determine it can be arranged.
Rieschick is survived by his husband, David Klimas; his mother, Carol Stvan; his sister, Jacqueline Costell; his niece and nephew, Carlin and Jackson; his father-in-law, James Klimas Sr.; his brother-in-law, Jimmy; and many friends in the D.C. area. He was preceded in death by his father, Kurt Walter Rieschick Sr.; and his mother-in-law, Gilda Klimas.
In lieu of flowers, which the funeral home will not accept due to COVID restrictions, Klimas and Costell are inviting friends and others who knew Rieschick to contribute in Rieschick’s name to the American Heart Association and Raising Malawi, a charitable organization founded by Madonna in 2006 to help orphan children and others facing severe poverty in the African nation of Malawi.
District of Columbia
David Archuleta, Monroe Alise named D.C. Pride parade marshals
Honorees ‘live authentically’ and ‘power of sharing your story’
The Capital Pride Alliance has announced that David Archuleta and Monroe Alise will be the grand marshals for the Pride parade on June 20.
Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance’s president, said the two were chosen for the way that they exemplify the theme “Exist. Resist. Have the Audacity!”
Archuleta is the “American Idol” season 7 runner-up and a strong supporter of the LGBTQ community.
He grew up religious and has been clear about his struggle to reconcile his faith, identity, and self-expression. In 2021, he publicly came out and has since been a major voice for LGBTQ visibility and acceptance. This year, Archuleta published the memoir “Devout,” which details his lived experience as a closeted Mormon teenager.
Alise is a transgender advocate and a D.C. native.
She has appeared in the shows “P-Valley” and “The Chi.” She also grew a major online following through her social media series “I’m CLOCKABLE,” where she discusses topics such as dating, culture, and self-discovery from the perspective of a queer person.
“Together, they represent to live authentically and the power of sharing your story to create change,” Bos said in a statement.
As grand marshals, the two will kick off celebrations leading up to the parade and participate in it. Alise will join the Crack of Noon Parade Brunch from 12-3 p.m. at Viceroy Washington, alongside honorees such as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The parade will kick off at 3 p.m. at the intersection of 14th and T Streets, N.W., before moving straight down 14th Street and ending at Pennsylvania Avenue at 7 p.m. The parade is free for anyone to watch at designated viewing areas.
More information about celebrations throughout Pride and the parade can be found at www.capitalpride.org.
District of Columbia
Hundreds of thousands expected to attend D.C. Pride events
Parade to take place on June 20
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend Pride events in D.C. this month.
The Capital Pride Alliance is marking its 51st year with a full slate of events, including a parade, festival, concert, parties, and community events across the city. This year’s theme is “EXIST. RESIST. Have the Audacity!”
“Our audacity is our collective strength. Against the forces that try to diminish us, we must remain bold, courageous, visible and heard, in a world that questions our humanity and challenges our rights. Together, let’s have the audacity to live, thrive, be joyful, and proud!” Capital Pride Alliance said in a statement.
Capital Pride’s signature weekend events will center on the June 20 parade and June 21 festival and concert.
The parade and concert will not take place on the second weekend of June, as they have in the past, to avoid conflicts with America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
The parade route is expected to begin at 14th and T Streets, N.W., and end at Pennsylvania Avenue and 9th Street, N.W. Free viewing areas will be available, though reservations are required for seating at designated locations across the route.
Leading up to the parade, a family event will be hosted from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Stead Park in Dupont Circle. Activities will include crafts, glitter tattoos, hair tinsel, photo ops, and an inflatable obstacle course. The event is free, but a prior reservation is required.
Crack of Noon Parade Brunch, a 21+ event featuring an all-you-can-eat buffet, will also take place earlier on June 20 at the Viceroy Washington at 1430 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.
The 17th Street Block Party, presented by Absolut, will also take place from noon to 10 p.m. on 17th Street in Dupont Circle. It will feature local food, an adult beverage garden, and other events.
On June 21, the Capital Pride Festival will run from noon to 10 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue The festival includes the Capital Pride Concert at Capitol Stage. The lineup of artists for the festival concert includes Maren Morris, queer rapper Leikeli47, Lisa Lisa, “Heated Rivalry” DJ Harrison, Tracy Young, and Myki Meeks.
“In a moment when LGBTQ+ people are being challenged across the country, the Capital Pride Concert is a space where our community is fully seen and heard,” said Capital Pride Alliance President Ryan Bos in a news release regarding the concert lineup.
Tickets to the concert are free, with exclusive pit and VIP experiences available for purchase.
The night will end with a “Capitol” Sunset Dance Party from 8-10 p.m., directly following the concert. It is available to all ages.
Other stages for concerts include the Monument and Dupont Dance Stage, with the artist lineup yet to be announced.
Three main parties will be available leading up to and during the parade: Riot!: The Official Pride Opening Party on June 19, featuring Bob the Drag Queen with a DJ set and headliner Myki Meeks. ELIX-Her on June 20 is a women-centered event at Decades and is 21+. On the same night, KINETIC: Toyland will feature headliner Alaska, “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2” winner.
Before the parade and festival weekend, community events, and celebrations will take place throughout the city.
The Washington Blade will host Pride on the Pier on June 13 from 4-9 p.m. at The Wharf. The free event will feature Pride365 Radio, a drag show with Venetian, DJ Chord, and dancing.
Capital Pride will have Night of Expression on June 10 at 7 p.m. at Busboys and Poets (14th and V streets). The event will feature an open mic and other performances.
Capital Pride Honors
Beyond its public celebrations, the Capital Pride Alliance will also recognize community leaders through its annual Capital Pride Honors program. This year’s honorees were selected based on how their work reflected the 2026 theme of Pride.
The winners were awarded at the Audacity Brunch: In Full Fuchsia, which is part of a fundraiser with Pride365, on Sunday.
Honorees included D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who received the Paving the Way Award; D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who received the Key to Capital Pride Award; and the Heroes Award recipients Benjamin Coy, Charity Blackwell, Darryl Hamilton, Thea Kano, Kendall Martinez-Wright, and Lee Levingston Perine.
Dylan Drobish and Tyler Hack received the SaVanna Wanzer Visibility Award, while Patrick Magee and Judy Schloss were honored with the Bill Miles Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
Darrell Wood and Tyler Cargill received the Breaking Barriers: Community Impact Award, and Dai Nguyen received the Bernie Delia Award.
Maryland
‘Girlfriends’ wanted for murder in Silver Spring, Md.
Montgomery County police say two charged with killing mother of one of them
The Montgomery County, Md., Department of Police announced on June 4 that it is seeking the public’s help in locating two women, who they identify as a couple, who are charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing the mother of one of them.
In a statement police identified the two women as Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson of Clarksburg, Md., and her girlfriend Samantha Raebel of Phoenix, Ariz. The statement says the two are charged with the murder of Hilde Henderson, 67, the mother of Vanessa.
According to the statement, officers with the department’s 3rd District found Hilde Henderson deceased on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at her home at the Charter House apartments in the 1300 block of Fenwick Lane in Silver Spring after being called to check on the resident’s welfare.
“Henderson was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where an autopsy was conducted,” the statement says. “The cause of death was ruled a homicide.”
It adds, “Through the course of the investigation, detectives identified Henderson’s daughter, Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson and Vanessa’s girlfriend, Raeble, as the suspects.” It says detectives obtained an arrest warrant against the two women, charging both with first-degree murder.
“Anyone with information regarding the location of these suspects or this crime is asked to call 911 or to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, Md. website at crimesolversmcmd.org,” the statement says, or to call the tip line at 1-866-411-8477.
“Tips with information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward from $250 up to $10,000,” it says, adding that tips may remain anonymous.
A spokesperson for Montgomery County police didn’t immediately respond to a request from the Washington Blade for information not disclosed in the police statement, including the physical-medical cause of death for Hilde Henderson and whether detectives have determined a motive for the murder.
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