Acacia Bernice Marquis

SCARBOROUGH – Acacia Bernice Marquis passed away peacefully on Sept. 7, 2024, at the Gosnell Hospice in Scarborough. She spent her last days there in comfort after a sudden illness, surrounded – as in life – by a loving abundance of family, friends, laughter, and music.

Acacia was born to Julie Marquis on April 29, 1997, in Fort Kent, Maine. Unable to breathe at birth, she was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. The diagnosis hardly defined her life, but the sweet nature and contagious joy revealed through her journey surely did.

Acacia spent her first few years in Fort Kent, Bangor, and Portland, then moved to Scarborough in 2001. She mainstreamed through Scarborough schools, where she was a Brownie, a Junior Girl Scout, a Key Club member, and a participant in Special Olympics, graduating with her 2015 class.

She then went to Opportunity Enterprise in Lewiston, where she loved volunteering at the farm, especially enjoying the horses. She also spent time at Creative Works in Scarborough, where her favorites were art, music, gardening, and socializing with her friends.

Acacia lived a full and adventurous life, and she was well-known from Fort Kent to Kittery. She found great pleasure in her relationships with her cousins, from holiday songs and videos to bedtime conversations to being kidnapped for playground adventures. She loved their sports and the Seadogs, movies and music, Thompson’s Point and Portland Lobster Company, Gritty’s and The King’s Head, and Memorial Park and Kettle Cove.

Acacia’s smile was infectious. She lived with grace, poise, and a love that was inspiring whether you knew her well or met her briefly at a game or a show, where people would often introduce themselves in order to share in her joy. She is survived by her mother, Julie Marquis of Scarborough; her memere, Paula Marquis of Portland; her aunts, uncles, and cousins, including Paul, Alicia, Erin, Quinn, and Reagan Marquis of Kittery; Kendra, Todd, Morgan, Sage, and Luke Drinkwater of Steep Falls; Andrea, Tim, Laney and Valerie Farrar of Gray; her paternal Harris family of Portland; and a wealth of family, friends, nurses, therapists, doctors, and caregivers who guided her through this life.

A celebration of Acacia’s life will be held on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. at O’Reilly’s Cure in Scarborough. May her love and light shine on!

Online condolence messages can be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service website, http://www.mainefuneral.com

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:

Disability Rights Maine

160 Capitol Street, Suite 4

Augusta, ME 04330