Gabriel Isaac Soucy Obituary (1993 - 2013)

MOUNT VERNON -- Gabriel Isaac Soucy was born Jan. 11, 1993, to John and Summer Soucy of Mount Vernon. He was home-schooled and attended Fayette Baptist Church. Gabriel lived at home and was a self-employed handyman. He died unexpectedly on Jan. 12, 2013. Gabe had a tremendous passion for the outdoors, no matter what the conditions. He loved God's creation. He loved to work hard, especially man's work outdoors -- wood splitting, moving rocks in the yard, it didn't matter. He loved to hunt; it was one of his biggest passions. Six years in a row he got his deer through prayer and scouting. He had close friends and was very loyal to them. He had hopes to save up money to buy land, get married, raise a family and build a cabin. He was one of a kind. He graduated from home school to heaven. When something piqued Gabe's interest, he excelled at it. 'Just pursued it with a passion. Everything from sandstone carving to hunting and hard work,' said his older brother Jehiah and best friend Caleb. 'Kokadjo (a family camp) was his favorite place to go,' said his girlfriend, Anne-Marie Hawkins, of Hartford, 'He taught me how to drive a snowmobile and a four-wheeler and how to shoot a gun. ... He was good at all those things.' The two met at Fayette Baptist Church. Gabriel was vocal with his peers and well loved, according to Pastor Russ. Some friends called him the Steve Irwin ('The Crocodile Hunter') of Maine. In the fall, he climbed apple trees and shook the wild apples loose for the deer. During the summer, he fed many birds, coaxing hummingbirds to land on his finger; he nursed an injured mink back to health. He once taught a 5-year-old girl how to remove hooks from sunfish. He gave his little sisters rides around the garden in a wagon. He helped feed his family (of 11) with the deer he hunted, and warmed the family with the wood he helped cut and split. 'Gabe was a gentle soul, sensitive,' said Pat Jones, a former Maine legislator and family friend who hired Gabe and his brothers to help with her Mount Vernon farm after the death of her husband five years ago. 'He not only did the heavy work, he took an interest in the natural things that were here. He showed me how to properly feed the hummingbirds. In May (the beginning of their season), he would boil up syrup with lots of sugar and taught me when to reduce the amount of sugar as the season went on. He was very sensitive to plants. I asked him to clear a field, and he said, 'Let's think about saving this blueberry bush.' I never noticed. He was very tuned in. I learned how to slow down and pay attention and think about how you need to care for those things, think about what their needs are. I'm going to miss the lessons that he taught me. They couldn't have taught him in books what he learned by being outside and really loving the environment,' said Jones. 'That's what was different about him.' Gabriel is survived by his parents, John and Summer Soucy, of Mount Vernon; his maternal grandfather, Arthur Dean of Mount Vernon; his paternal grandmother, Carol Soucy, of Belgrade; brothers Jehiah, Jeshua, Isaiah, Simeon and Joshua Soucy (a close cousin who grew up in his home), and sisters Charity, Harmony and Micaiah, all of Mount Vernon; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at Fayette Baptist Church. A memorial fund for the family is set up at the church: Fayette Baptist Church, 39 Baldwin Hill Road, Fayette, ME 04349. Memo: Soucy memorial fund. Arrangements are in the care of Roberts Funeral Home, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop, where memories, condolences, photos and videos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the website at www.khrfuneralhomes.com.