Community Gathers to Memorialize Olivia Marchand, 17, Domestic Violence Victim
Mass Memorializes Olivia Marchand, 17, Fatally Shot by her Father, Police Say
Community Gathers to Memorialize Olivia Marchand, 17, Domestic Violence Victim
by Joyce Pellino Crane
WESTFORD, Mass. – A high school senior beseeched the community to “Live for Liv,” this morning, inside an overflowing church where her fellow classmates, their families, and friends gathered to memorialize a student who died violently this week.
The early morning Mass at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church brought together a community seeking solace over the death of a popular high school senior and the critical wounding of her mother who, police say, were shot Monday by the student’s father, before he turned the gun on himself.
Olivia Marchand, 17, died at her Makepeace Road home from a 9 mm gunshot wound. Her mother, Jody Marchand, 50, was med-flighted to the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester where a hospital representative, today, said he had “no information on that patient.”
Brian Marchand, 59, Olivia’s father and Jody’s husband, died at the scene, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.
The tragedy brought a wave of grief to this community and raised awareness of violent crime among 1400 public high school students at Westford Academy, where Olivia Marchand attended.
Since Tuesday, school officials have overseen a series of efforts designed to help her closest friends and the extended student population cope with her death. In addition to this morning’s Mass and vigil scheduled for this afternoon, students were encouraged to seek grief counseling during the week from guidance counselors. They met inside the high school auditorium and poured their sorrow onto rolls of paper stretched across the stage that were to be later displayed in the corridors. They gathered at the home of Olivia Marchand’s best friend Nicole Kibblehouse, where they were comforted by the Revs. Peter F. Quinn and David P. White of St. Catherine’s.
On Thursday, the senior class held a somber vigil on the very day they were scheduled to kick-off the last 100 days of classes—traditionally a day of jubilance.
Earlier in the week regional media outlets overran the community with on-air personalities, video camera operators, and vans projecting towering broadcast antennae.
The tragedy was intensified because only three weeks earlier, a similar incident had taken place at a Forge Village Road home. On January 9, police say Frederick Leduc, 45, fatally shot his wife Karen, 43, while their two younger sons, Jared and Justyn, were inside. Leduc is recuperating from a gunshot wound to his chin, and is charged with first degree murder, according to a spokesperson for Leone. The two boys attend Westford Academy. The oldest son, Joshua, lives on his own.
Brian Marchand, 59, was a member of an extended family in the area, which operates Leo Marchand, Inc., of Chelmsford, a heating oil business established in 1960 that oversees Colonial Oil of Chelmsford and Ray Marchand Oil of Lowell. Brian Marchand was a co-owner with his brother Ray of Ray Marchand Oil, according to an obituary published by family members, and had recently retired from the business.
Monday, Police responded to two abruptly terminated 911 calls made from the Marchand home, by phoning the number that appeared on the emergency dispatch system and briefly speaking with Olivia.
Following protocol, a police cruiser was sent to the home, arriving only “minutes” after Olivia Marchand had told the police dispatcher that the family was “all set” and not in need of assistance, according to Leone. But what they found inside the home’s master bedroom, was an “unspeakable” scene, he added.
At this morning’s service, Quinn quoted 1950 Nobel Laureate Prize winner for Peace, Ralph Bunche, who said “if you want to get across an idea, wrap it up in a person.”
God gave us Jesus Christ to convey his message, said Quinn.
For some students, Olivia Marchand’s death has conveyed a message that is deepening their understanding of their own existence, Quinn noted. One high school student confided that before the tragedy, he only gave thought to how events impacted him. But since Monday, the student said he now considers the effect on those around him, according to Quinn.
“I’d say that’s a life-changing transformation,” Quinn said to the hundreds seated inside the church.
Several students took part in the service, leading the attendees in a traditional prayer, and carrying the Communion gifts to the Altar for blessing.
The service ended with a tribute to Olivia Marchand from Kibblehouse, a member of St. Catherine’s congregation.
“I don’t want you to remember her as the picture you see in the newspaper…,” she said. “I want you to remember her as if you were her best friend.”
Speaking in the present tense, Kibblehouse painted the picture of a vibrant and joyous teenager who “loves chocolate” so much she has a Godiva membership, “never wears make-up,” and listens to “hardcore screamo music.”
“Livy’s favorite color is purple and she loves the summer,” Kibblehouse said. “…Liv loves her life and her family and is perfectly happy…she says she’s had enough tears and wants you to get up and do everything you want to do…Live for Liv.”
