Rene Javier Best

Service

Friday, June 13, 2025 |Wake: 2:00 p.m. |Service: 4:00 p.m.

Howell Funeral Home Chapel|10220 Guilford Road| Jessup, Maryland 20794

Celebration of Life for Rene Best

https://youtube.com/live/H-mH-SlYXo8?feature=share

Interment

Columbia Memorial Park| 12005 Clarksville Pike| Clarksville, Maryland 21029

Saturday, June 14, 2025| Time: 11:00 a.m.

Obituary

René Javier Best, later known as Seth, passed away on Monday, May 26th, 2025, in Columbia, Maryland due to complications while hospitalized. He was 74 years old.

Born on November 13, 1950, in Panama City, Panama, Seth was the son of Rosa Boles McFarland and Ralph Waldo Best. He spent his early years in Panama before immigrating to the United States and enlisting in the Army in the 1970’s.

Seth was the proud father of six children: Samuel, Malaika, Ephraim, Joshua, Yahellah, and Elijah. After immigrating to the United States, he settled in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, specifically Franklin Avenue, where he lived for nearly two decades and remained connected to a vibrant Panamanian community. He later married Vielka Best; from this union they raised four children. The family eventually moved to Maryland, where Seth spent many years before relocating to Las Vegas in his later life.

A military veteran who served during the Vietnam War, Seth earned accolades such as the Parachute Badge, Expert Badge (M-16), Sharpshooter Badge (grenade), and a Good Conduct Medal. He also worked in construction, warehouses, and other hands-on roles, consistently providing for his family with quiet determination to ensure his household and extended family were taken care of. He was a staunch family man, always showing up not only for his children but also for nieces, nephews, grandchildren and friends who became family.

Seth was known for being strong-willed and outspoken, never one to back down from what he believed in. At the same time, he was deeply generous, friendly, and sociable - someone who loved to talk, laugh, and fill a room with energy. He had a special love for salsa music, especially the work of fellow Panamanian Reuben Blades, and would often fill the house with rhythm and movement through dance. He also contained an intellectual curiosity that he instilled in his children, as he was an avid reader and philosopher in his own right.

Originally raised Baptist, Seth later embraced the Israelite faith during his years in New York where he attended B’NAI ZAKEN School of Higher Learning. This spiritual path became central to his identity; shaping his values, dietary practices, and worldview. It was through his connection with God that he adopted the name “Seth,” as a reflection of his devotion and covenant with the Most High, to whom he has peacefully returned.

He is survived by his wife, Vielka Best; his children, Samuel, Malaika, Ephraim, Joshua, Yahellah, and Elijah; his siblings Evelyna, Guillermo “Memo,” Fabio, and Roger; ten beloved grandchildren; and 3 great-grandchildren. He is also remembered with love by extended family and close friends, where he left his mark across the world including Panama, the United States, South Korea, and Morocco.

In lieu of flowers, contributions toward Seth’s burial fund are appreciated and can be sent to https://gofund.me/c6aa7667