John James deMarsche

Published 12:00 am Friday, July 31, 2009

John James deMarsche, 23, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 19, 2009, as a result of a helicopter crash at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. He was one of 16 civilians killed onboard a Mi-8 helicopter that crashed near the runway
just after takeoff.
John was born December 11, 1985, in Baton Rouge and graduated from McDonough High School in Pomfret, Maryland, in 2004. He relocated back to Baton Rouge and was employed by Arkel International as a construction
manager. John worked as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
John loved music, especially the guitar, and blessed everyone around him with his talent. He also loved mountain climbing
and traveling and had been to many places in his young life including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Jordan, Dubai, Iraq, Argentina, Chili, Canada, Hawaii and several mountain ranges in the U.S.
John is survived by his
mother Rene Watkins, stepfather Rick Watkins, brother Richard Watkins and sister Elizabeth Watkins, all residents of LaPlata, Md.; maternal grandparents, Almon and Levea Johnson of Leesville; his father Jeffrey (Jimmy) deMarsche’, stepmother Susan
deMarsche, sister Jamie deMarsche and brother Joseph deMarsche; paternal grandmother, Bertha (Berty) deMarsche, all residents of Denham Springs. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Ronald deMarsche.
John leaves
behind his fiancee’ Ann Davis of Cayce, South Carolina.
His funeral will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, August 1, at Seale Funeral Home, 1720 S. Range Avenue, Denham Springs. Burial will follow at Evergreen Memorial Park. Visitation will be
from 8 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday, Aug. 1.
John was loved dearly by many and will be missed by all who knew him.