MADAWASKA, Maine — Curtis Levesque, who died of electrocution after a motor vehicle crash in Frenchville, is remembered in this St. John Valley community for his outgoing personality, being a supportive friend, and having a passion for welding and automobiles of all types.
Those who knew Levesque said he showed incredible potential, even at just 19 years old. He was less than a year away from finishing a two-year welding program at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor. He also worked at a couple of local welding shops and was already making a name for himself in the field.
Levesque died on Jan. 5 after the vehicle he was riding in struck a utility pole and he came in contact with a downed wire.
He graduated from Madawaska Middle/High School in 2022. During his time at high school, he also attended the St. John Valley Technology Center in Frenchville. April Leighton, Madawaska Middle/High School Guidance Counselor, said Levesque truly thrived at the technology center.
“He learned best working with his hands,” she said. “He was a model student. He was the kid that we would’ve wanted to come back to talk to our students and say ‘Don’t give up.’ Once you find the way to make it work, it’s going to work for you.”
Kevin Lavoie, Director of the St. John Valley Technology Center, said Levesque quickly gravitated toward the program, and that his personality caused many students to gravitate toward him.
“He was shy for about two seconds,” Lavoie said of his first time meeting Levesque. “He was a good storyteller. The other students would all be in awe of what he had to say; he captivated their attention.”
And if anyone had vehicle troubles, Leighton said they would call on Levesque to help.
“He was the man to tell them how to fix the bumper, or get the motor running differently, or to supercharge it,” she said. “He was the one they called.”
In his second year, Levesque asked if he could restore an old Jeep, a 1966 CJ6, for a class project. Lavoie said he could tell that he didn’t think the project would be approved, but he decided to give Levesque the green light because of his hard work and dedication.
“His eyes were large and he was grinning from ear to ear,” said Lavoie. “He was in his glory. It was an older Jeep and everything was taken out of it. He needed to do the rocker panels, quarter panels, and floorboards. It was a lot of work. He spent the last quarter part of a semester working on it, and he did a great job.”
Leighton said Levesque had a penchant for motorcycles, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles, and that he lived life on the edge. She recalled a time that he and a friend bought an old boat and were stranded in the middle of a lake.
“My husband and I saw them and pulled them back to shore,” she said. “But they were just sitting back like ‘Yeah, we shouldn’t have bought this old thing, but we would’ve eventually gotten back to shore.’ I mean, nothing fazed him.”
Lavoie said two things he will remember most about Levesque are the gleam in his eye, and a smirk that let others know he was up to something mischievous. Yet at the same time, Lavoie said Levesque was polite, courteous, and that his friends all looked up to him.
“He was so young, but he did a lot in the short years that he was actively involved as an adolescent,” Lavoie said. “His friends were able to see the type of true individual that he was. He was a compassionate, caring, and supportive friend. And I think that’s key in today’s age.”
Levesque is survived by his parents Andrew and Monica Levesque, his sister Avery Levesque and his brother Noah Levesque, all of Madawaska. A funeral service for him will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Jan. 12, at St. David Church in Madawaska.
