Beloved ‘Beach Blaster’ Steven Duke Dies Unexpectedly In Virginia Leaving Community Crestfallen

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

Ocean View lost one of its brightest lights this week. 

Steven Eugene Duke — Capt. Duke, the Beach Blaster, the guy who could fill a room, command a mic, and make a whole community feel like family — died unexpectedly in Virginia, his loved ones announced. 

The hole he leaves behind is already impossible to miss.

His daughter, Nicolette Duke, shared the news with the same heartbreak the Ocean View community has been echoing ever since. 

“Yesterday, we lost our father unexpectedly,” she said. Duke wrote that he “dedicated over 20 years to the Sheriff’s Office as a Captain and became a community staple as ‘The Beach Blaster,’ DJing for more than 35 years.” 

She said her family is asking for help with memorial expenses so they “can honor him the way he deserves.” She added, “He touched so many lives, and the outpouring of love already shows just how deeply he was cherished.”

His obituary states that "Steven dedicated 20 years to the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, serving as a deputy and eventually retiring at the rank of Captain." 

"He later continued his public service as a Court Security Officer for the Norfolk Court System, where his professionalism, steady demeanor, and kindness made a lasting impact on colleagues and the community." 

The shock spread across Norfolk within minutes. 

Norfolk FOP Lodge 3 announced, “It is with deep sadness that I share the news of the passing of our Chaplain, Steve Duke. Steve passed away this afternoon. He was a well-loved member of our lodge and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.”

For the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, the loss landed even heavier. 

Larry Lynn wrote, “My old agency, Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, has lost three Great Men in the last couple of weeks. John Woodward Sr., Brian Hallman, and Steve Duke.”

Friends said the gut punch comes from how sudden it was. 

Steve Archer wrote, “I am in shock to hear about the sudden passing of my dear friend Steve Duke."

"We were just hanging out together at the KOC Oyster Roast on Nov. 1. He’s the reason my band was playing there. A fantastic person. I don’t know what’s happened yet. He seemed perfectly fine. It’s just so sad.”

Granby High School classmates remembered him long before the Beach Blaster persona ever hit a speaker.

“Friends since the days of Northside Football and classmates at Granby High. Played football, DJ’d many events and nightclubs together around Tidewater together especially at the old 4400 Campus Club at ODU," Mitch Booden said. "Then later years, we worked at the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office together. You were a great friend and will surely be missed." 

LaMarquis Myles remembered how much he meant to people inside the Sheriff’s Office. 

“One of the first people I met when I was a recruit, all the way until he retired and became a blue coat in courts,” he said. “One of THE NICEST and COOLEST guys in Norfolk. I’ll miss our Washington talks (and grieving after a loss). R.I.P. Steve Duke ‘Duke Nuke 'em HTTR.”

Then there’s what he meant to Ocean View — a presence so constant that people are now trying to imagine what community events will feel like without him standing front and center.

“Not the loss I feel but the loss to our OV community,” Michelle Carmody Nelson wrote. 

She said Duke “was the voice at OV park every Friday night for TGOV,” and a “vital member of The St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee.” Carmody said he helped run the Knights of Columbus Oyster Roast, “secured the band, sold sooooo many tickets, and was hugely the reason it was so successful.”

She said he worked “many Golf Tournaments for various organizations,” and raised money for Law and Disorderly and the Shriners. 

“He wasn’t a behind-the-scenes guy either,” she said. “He was front and center. He was the Beach Blaster for many, many events around here and throughout Norfolk.”

Carmody reached back to when they were teenagers, sharing a memory that now feels like the beginning of everything. 

“I remember listening to Neil Diamond, Cheap Trick, The Commodores, and many more over and over out in your dad’s garage when we were 16. You were pretending to DJ way back then," she added. "You sure had the voice for it and could get a crowd on their feet.” 

She added, “Those jukeboxes in the sky are never gonna be the same.”

Nicolette Duke said the family is doing everything they can to support each other as they face something they never expected. 

“This was very unexpected,” she wrote. “Thank you to everyone who has been reaching out — I really do appreciate it and it is not going unnoticed.”

His funeral will be held on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m. at Hollomon-Brown on Tidewater Drive. A Celebration of Life will follow at 5 p.m. at Azalea Inn for all who wish to come.

“We are so very thankful and appreciative of all of the support and outpouring of love we have received so far!” Nicolette said. “It is such a testament to dad’s character with how loved and cherished he was by so many in our community.”

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with memorial expenses.

"Steven leaves behind a legacy of service, music, community, laughter, and love. His presence—warm, generous, full of stories, and unmistakably his own—will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him," his obituary adds. 

"His impact on Norfolk, especially Ocean View, will continue to be felt for generations."