Christopher McCue, 38, of Naples, pictured with his wife, April Rehmert, and their two children Oakley, left, and Alexandria. Contributed / April Rehmert
April Rehmert said she is “just really lost” upon losing her husband Christopher McCue, who died Aug. 29 after his motorcycle crossed into oncoming traffic at the Harrison-Naples line and collided with an SUV.
“We’ve known each other for 25-plus years,” Rehmert said, choking back tears. “He was my everything, my best friend, my savior, my rescuer.”
McCue, 38, of Naples, was driving his Yamaha south on Edes Falls Road around 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 when he crossed into the opposite lane and struck the front of a Jeep Cherokee driven by Liza Poole, 38, of Harrison. McCue, who was wearing a helmet, died at the scene. Poole and two small children with her were evaluated for possible injuries, Capt. Kerry Joyce with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement following the accident.
A funeral for McCue was scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 8, at Hall Funeral Home in Casco, but Rehmert would like to do more. The funeral felt rushed, she said, and she’d like to offer a celebration of McCue’s life in the near future to give adequate time for his loved ones to gather. Across from the funeral home is Hacker’s Hill Preserve, which Rehmert said was her husband’s favorite place and a perfect site to honor him.
“He loved being outside,” she said.
Rehmert said she and McCue would have marked their third wedding anniversary this month. Her two children, Oakley, almost 4, and Alexandria, almost 3, are not her late husband’s biological son and daughter, but “to him they were his.” He had planned to adopt them, she said.
“He loved playing with his kids,” she said.
Rehmert said she and McCue had common struggles, both having battled heroin addiction. He had served a total of 13 years in prison, she said, but he was “finally on the right track” and had been sober for about a year and a half.
“His sobriety was really important to him,” she said.
McCue’s childhood friend, Carrie Tarr, said he “got along with everyone and never judged. He had his own demons and fought them daily. I’m going to miss him for the rest of my life.”
He “had just gotten a job at a mechanic shop that he really liked” after previously having a hard time keeping many jobs, Rehmert said. He’d lose them because he would “drop everything to help” with the children, she said.
“Chris had a really good heart, he cared greatly for his friends and his family,” friend Katie Dailey said.
Rehmert expressed regret that she let McCue leave her house on the evening of the accident when he was tired. She believes he closed his eyes for a second before drifting into the opposite lane.
“I know he wasn’t speeding, because he was very safe on his motorcycle,” she said.
McCue grew up in Weymouth, Massachusetts, for the first 13 years of his life until he moved to Bridgton.
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