Casey Elizabeth Bouchard

February 15, 1995 - March 6, 2022

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Casey Elizabeth Bouchard, 27 who left us on March 5, 2022. She was born on February 15, 1995 to Susan Martel and Peter Bouchard. Casey attended Greater Portland Christian School in So. Portland, Maine and graduated from Falmouth High School in 2013. Casey then went on to attend Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology in 2017. Casey would tell her dad from a very young age; “Daddy, when I graduate school I don’t want a new car or money, I want to go to Africa and help the orphans.” She might have been 7 or 8 years old at the most. Once Casey was in high school, she would remind her father; “Dad don’t forget we are going to Africa when I graduate to help the orphans.” So, in the Summer of 2013, Casey, her sister, Paige and Dad headed to Zimbabwe and broke ground to build a complete orphanage for Rose of Charity. The orphanage now consists of a school, a community center, a computer learning center, dormitories for the children to live in, a water well, a farm with crops and animals. Because of Casey’s dream, today 175+ children are fed three meals a day and about 100 or so live in the orphanage. Some of the first children she met have gone on to graduate from the orphanage and are living on their own. One young lady, named Faith, has always stayed in touch with the family and considered Casey and Paige to be her sisters. Casey’s passion to work with kids with disabilities took her to Strive located in South Portland, Maine where she worked until moving to Florida. Casey continued her education and received a Registered Behavior Technician License, of which she was very proud of. In her last job she was at Chrysalis ABA Therapy in Delray Beach, Florida where she worked with children that have autism. Casey’s work was not just work; it was her passion. Casey’s patience and love for her 'kids’ was evident. She talked about them all the time and often sent us pictures of her day. She was always looking for ways to help them learn. Casey’s love for kids spread far and wide, one can say globally due to her dream and work in Zimbabwe. Casey had a love for music, as a child she would ride to school with her dad and sister listening and singing to a wide variety of music- BB King, Muddy Waters, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Journey, The Rolling Stones, AC DC; her favorite song was Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Casey knew every word to so many songs. She loved to talk and eat, as long as someone else was doing the cooking! Casey loved to dance, she learnt to dance from the age of 3 years old. Casey would stay with dance for 15 years straight and as a member of City Dance get her 15-year trophy. Casey loved God, she accepted God into her heart and was baptized. As Casey got older, she decided she loved God but not one single religion. Casey would come to love many of the principles of the Buddhist teachings, because it emphasized love for people. She invited so many people to church, hoping it would help them. Casey always wanted to simply help people. From the age of 5 years old she would volunteer with her family at the Preble Street soup kitchen, feeding the homeless. Over the years she would come to know many of the homeless on a first name basis. Of course, when she saw them, she had to buy them a coffee and food. Casey and Paige grew up with ‘family dinner’, she would come home and say “Can I bring a few friends tomorrow night, they don’t have family dinners like we do.” “How many Casey?” “A few” was the response and often it could be four or five and we would scramble to make more food. Post-graduation from Curry College, Casey went to China with her dad to see The Great Wall of China and the culture. Casey was fascinated with the lifestyle of the country. During Casey’s lifetime she traveled to many countries: England, Ireland, Wales, China, Mexico, Belize, Aruba, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and many others. Always making friends in each country! Casey always wanted to return to Zimbabwe and live there for a year or more at the orphanage. A life dedicated to helping those less fortunate was Casey in a nut shell. Casey is survived by her mother Sue Martel, her father Peter Bouchard, her sister, Paige Bouchard, step-brother, Andrew Simoneau, step-sister, Sofia Allan, step-sister, Andrea Allan, step-father, Scott Simoneau, step-mother Cristina Bouchard, grandmother, Sandra Martel, grandfather, Vic Martel and many aunts, uncles and cousins. Casey will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered in our hearts forever as bright loving ray of light. A celebration of life will be held at 1:00 pm Sunday March 20, 2022 at East Point Christian Church, 345 Clarks Pond Pkwy, South Portland, Maine 04106 . Please no flowers, instead we would ask you donate to Strive in Casey’s name. www.pslstrive.org click the blue donate button at the top of the page. Or call Strive @ 207-774-6278