GORHAM — Services will be held Saturday for two Gorham High School graduates who died last week in a crash in Arundel.
Jacob Dupuis, 19, of Gorham and Henry O’Neill, 19, of Standish, were killed Sept. 24 when their truck left the road, struck a tree and caught fire. Both were student athletes and graduated in 2019.
Dupuis
A visitation for Dupuis will be held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the residence of Ted Carter, 99 Cousins Road, Buxton. Dupuis was the son of Tom and Leslie (Wright) Dupuis of Gorham.
A memorial service for O’Neill, the son of Timothy and Diane O’Neill of Standish, is planned for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Fort Hill Park, Route 114, in Gorham. A reception will follow the service on the grounds of the Old Richardson Place, 510 Main St., Gorham.
The deaths of the young men have saddened and stunned the high school and the community.
“They were great kids,” high school Principal Brian Jandreau said in an email to the American Journal. “Both so giving, well loved, built strong relationships with teachers and their peers.”
Dupuis played lacrosse and was a partner on the school’s Unified Basketball team. O’Neill played basketball and had “incredible school spirit,” Jandreau said.
“Each of them made GHS a better place and we are deeply saddened by their tragic loss,” Jandreau said.
O’Neill
Dupuis was a sophomore at the University of Vermont and O’Neill studied at Curry College in Massachusetts.
Dupuis and O’Neill were both widely known in Gorham. Dupuis’ mother is editor of the Gorham Times newspaper.
“The board and staff of the Gorham Times extends heartfelt sympathy to our editor, Leslie Dupuis, and her family on the loss of her son, Jacob, and to the family of Henry O’Neill,” the newspaper said in a statement provided by staff member Kathy Corbett.
Dupuis loved snowboarding, skateboarding, camping and vacationing at Sebago Lake, according to his obituary.
O’Neill was an avid golfer and enjoyed swimming and fishing at his family’s Sebago Lake home, his obituary said.
Jandreau said in a letter to Gorham High School families that he was working with the high school crisis team “to best support our GHS community.”
The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24 on Log Cabin Road in Arundel, the Portland Press Herald reported. After their 2008 GMC Sierra with a rack body hit the tree and burst into flames, the two were unable to escape, police said.
Brad Sanders, a civilian administrator at the York County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday there is no ongoing investigation of the crash.
“It’s a closed matter,” Sanders said.
Gorham police are advising drivers to seek alternate routes during the services Saturday.
Cousins Road in Buxton from Patten Road to Shaw Road will be one lane between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Southbound traffic on Fort Hill Road in Gorham will be detoured at Huston Road between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Northbound traffic will be allowed to continue but police are urging caution for pedestrians near Fort Hill Park. Buses to Fort Hill park will begin shuttle service at 11:30 a.m. at Gorham Middle School, 106 Weeks Road.
COVID-19 precautions will be in place and masks will be required at both events.
Jacob Dupuis was captain of the lacrosse team at Gorham High School and was a partner on the school’s Unified Basketball team. American Journal file photo / Adam Birt
Henry O’Neill played basketball for Gorham High School and had “incredible school spirit,” the principal said. American Journal file photo / Adam Birt
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