Remembering Marc Paul Decoteau

To the world at large he is now known as Private First Class Marc Paul Decoteau, age 19, killed in action in Afghanistan on January 29th, 2010.

But to us he is known as an Outstanding Student, Hard-Working Actor and Dearly Loved Friend.

In March 2006, when our first attempts to drum up support for a proposed theatre in Waterville Valley were met with resistance, we found a champion in Town Manager Mark Decoteau, who was the first person to see the possible value we could bring to local families. A quiet, reserved athlete and retired military, he was a (seemingly) unlikely patron for a classical theater. But not only did he value us from his professional perspective, on a personal note, he fondly remembered attending a Shakespeare theater close to where he was stationed in the Army and had a son whose interests lay in both sports and theatre. So it came to pass that, under Town and Rec dept patronage, our theatre found not only its’ first home, but its’ first REACH FOR THE STARS “CAN DO” theatre camp student– Marc Paul Decoteau. Over the ensuing years, young Marc starred in our Winter Holiday shows and appeared in both Kid Camp and Main Stage professional shows with our Shakespeare in the Valley Outdoor Summer Fest. His family–father Mark, mother Nancy, sister Maddie and brother Andrew–were all mainstays in our audience as they watched Marc and his friends display the fruits of their creative labor.

Marc Paul was a sweet, generous, good-spirited and kind-hearted adolescent–he always had a smile on his face (a genuine one–not the sardonic leer that many teens try to pass off as a smile) and a nice thing to say. He was a good friend to his peers and a great mentor to the younger members of our youth programs. It was an honor and a privilege to have known him and to watch him grow into a young man of exceptional promise. That he will not live to see that promise realized is a tragedy that even we–who traffic in drama as a vocation–find almost impossible to fully comprehend.

Mark, Nancy, Maddie and Andrew–you have always been our heroes because you believed in us when no-one else did. We will never forget that.

Marc Paul–you were our hero long before you gave your life on Afghani soil in the most noble and honorable way possible–fighting for a cause you believed in and in the service of others. You were, are and always will be our hero because you LIVED your life on Valley soil in the most noble and honorable way possible–giving your heart to that which you believed in, always in the service of others.  We will never forget you.