This obituary was originally published on Rogers & Breece Funeral Home.
Richard Lozada Canino, 57, of Ocracoke, North Carolina, passed away on August 2, 2026, at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina.
Rich was born on January 14, 1969, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the late Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Gilberto M. Canino and Lydia Canino Lozada, both originally from Puerto Rico.
After graduating from high school, Rich became an accomplished professional DJ, performing in clubs in Columbia, South Carolina; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; Miami, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina. He earned numerous accolades as a DJ, including the Southeastern DJ of the Year award in 1990. Throughout his life, he never lost his deep love of music, his joy in creating custom mixes, or his ability to play music at club-level decibels, even at home.
Rich later joined the United States Army, where he completed the rigorous training required to become an Army sniper. He served honorably as a Sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Division, establishing a foundation of tactical precision, courage, and discipline that would define much of his life.
After returning to civilian life, Rich’s desire to protect others developed into a passion for saving lives. He entered the medical field and served with distinction as a paramedic with Cumberland County Emergency Medical Services. During this chapter of his life, Rich also spent five years volunteering as a youth wrestling, football, and baseball coach at the middle and high school levels. Generous with his time, he invested deeply in the character and futures of the young athletes he coached.
His unique combination of military experience and lifesaving medical expertise eventually called him back overseas. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Rich deployed as a private security contractor under the Worldwide Protective Services program for the United States Department of State. Operating in high-risk environments, he served as both a Protective Security Specialist and an embassy contract paramedic, providing critical medical care under dangerous circumstances at the Republican Palace in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Following his time overseas, Rich took to the skies as a flight medic with Vidant Health, now ECU Health. In this role, his exceptional skill, courage, and composure under pressure allowed him to provide lifesaving emergency care to patients in some of their most critical moments.
Rich was fun-loving, generous, and genuinely enjoyable to be around. He was devoted to his loved ones, especially his daughter, Shannon, and will be remembered for his deep compassion and lifelong spirit of service. His inspiring example led his nephews, Mikhael Canino and Alex Stephens, to follow in his footsteps by serving as combat medics in the United States Army.
He is survived by his daughter, Shannon Stephens Morehead, and her husband, Jeff, of Fayetteville, North Carolina; his grandchildren, Grayson, Cameron, and Woods; his fiancée, Dana Long, and her granddaughter, Kayli De Leon; his former spouse and lifelong friend, Kay Stephens; his brothers, Gilberto Canino Jr. and his wife, Sandra, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Eduard Canino of Hot Springs, Arkansas; and numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members, colleagues, close friends and faithful service dog, Addie.
Rich’s powerful legacy of service, protection, compassion, generosity, and care will live on through his family, friends, colleagues, and the many individuals whose lives were made better because of him.
A memorial service will is tentatively scheduled for September 2026.