The event will be held as fundraiser for a memorial garden in honor of Paul Duquette, a West Hartford resident and social studies teacher at King Philip Middle School.
A cairn garden will be constructed as a tribute to KP teacher Paul Duquette who passed away in June 2015. Submitted photo
By Ronni Newton
A group of King Philip Middle School teachers are planning to construct a memorial cairn garden in memory of their friend and former colleague, West Hartford resident and beloved social studies teacher Paul Duquette who passed away unexpectedly last June from complications of pneumonia.
“This garden will be a quiet spot for remembering and reflecting on a life taken too soon,” King Philip teacher Stacey Grindle said in an email. A cairn garden was chosen as an appropriate memorial in part because Grindle said that rock collecting was one of Duquette’s favorite vacation hobbies.
After bringing home rocks, “he would then spend hours in his back yard arranging, stacking and admiring these rocks with his grandson, Cam,” Grindle said.
The garden will cost thousands of dollars to design, purchase, and install, and King Philip staff is raising funds through various means in order to pay for it.
A rock cairn will be featured at the paint party fundraiser to construct a rock cairn as a tribute to former KP teacher Paul Duquette. Submitted photo
A paint party, featuring a rock cairn, will be held at the American Legion Hall in Blue Back Square on March 31. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and painting will take place between 7 – 9 p.m. Attendees must be at least 21 years old. A full menu and cash bar will be available and there will also be raffles.
The cost for the event is $40 per person, cash or check (payable to KPMS or Stacey Grindle with “PD Paint Event” in the memo line) paid by March 28, 2016. Anyone interested can also contact Stacey Grindle at [email protected].
A GoFundMe campaign has also been established to raise money for the cairn garden. The description of the campaign includes the following tribute to Duquette:
Through the thousands of lives he touched as an educator, the love and kindness he showed his friends and family, and his unfailing ability to care for all those around him, Paul made the world a better place. Paul was an extraordinary educator, friend, husband, father and grandfather, whose legacy extends to the thousands of students he taught, to the colleagues with whom he shared his friendship and humor, and to the family and friends he left far too soon. Paul had a tremendous impact on all those he met; regardless of the topic, he made every conversation seem like it was the most important part of his day.
Paul Duquette used the phrase “it matters” to express his philosophy in class. Even more so, Paul lived and embodied this philosophy – everything matters. It matters that one is kind to others; it matters that one has a positive attitude; it matters that one appreciates the arts; it matters that one is a good sport; it matters that one cares about the lives of those around you.
Click here to contribute through GoFundMe.
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