Friday marks a year since a deadly mass shooting changed Maine forever. The Lewiston shooting on Oct. 25, 2023, left 18 dead and multiple injured, and sent ripples of grief across the state. Those who were lost live on in the hearts and minds of Mainers.
William Brackett, 48
When he was a teenager, Billy Brackett served as a batboy for his high school baseball team, and taught the hearing players sign language in the dugout. On Facebook, he called himself the “Silent Giant.” He and his wife shared a 2-year-old daughter, who he was teaching to love fishing as much as Brackett did. His father, also named William, said that children naturally flocked to him for safety, due to his size and gentle nature.
Keith Macneir, 64
Keith MacNeir was up in Maine from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, celebrating his son’s birthday at Schemengees, when he was shot and killed. He’d retired a few years prior after many years working for the National Park Service in the Virgin Islands, and had brought a bag of fresh stone crabs straight off the boat to Maine to enjoy with his son on his birthday.
Michael Deslauriers Jr., 51
Michael was with his best friend, Jason Walker, when the shooting happened, and both were killed protecting their families and attempting to disarm the gunman. He was a self-taught “techy,” working as a network engineer for St. Mary’s Hospital for more than 30 years, and had a longtime partner and two children. He and Walker were inseparable, and loved bowling, cornhole, golf, fishing and enjoying a cold beer together.
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
Though his coworkers knew him as a hard-working pipefitter at Bath Iron Works, Peyton Brewer-Ross was also an artist, painting portraits and other works inspired by the things in his life. A few months after Brewer-Ross was shot and killed while playing cornhole at Schemengees, his family hosted an art show featuring his paintings alongside work by his fiancee, daughter and friends, showcasing his sense of humor and love of people. They served Slim Jims, his favorite snack food, in his honor.
Bryan MacFarlane, 40
One of four members of Maine’s deaf community to lose their lives on Oct. 25, Bryan MacFarlane could often be found in a few places: playing cornhole with his deaf friends at places like Schemengees, or in the cab of his truck, working as a commercial truck driver. While driving, he was invariably accompanied by one of his best friends, a shih tzu named M&M. MacFarlane, a graduate of Maine’s Baxter School for the Deaf, was proud of his chosen career as one of only a handful of deaf truck drivers in the country.
Joseph Walker, 57
Managing Schemengees in Lewiston was an ideal job for Joe Walker, a man with deep roots in the Lewiston-Auburn area. He was a passionate darts player who also had recently picked up cornhole, all things popular at the local sports bar. A father of six and grandfather of two, Walker attempted to stop the gunman with a butcher knife, but was shot before he could disable him.
Bill Young, 44, and Aaron Young, 14
Father and son Bill and Aaron Young lived in the lakeside town of Winthrop and were part of a gregarious, close-knit family that prioritized laughter and fun, alongside wife, Cindy, and daughter, Lauren. The father and son duo loved golfing, summers on the lake, fishing and bowling, all of which they often did together. Both were over 6 feet tall and, though physically imposing, were described as gentle “goofballs” by friends.
Arthur Strout, 42
A father of five, Arthur Strout was blowing off steam playing several rounds of pool — a lifelong favorite activity of his — at Schemengees on the night of Oct. 25, 2023. He shared five children and stepchildren with his wife, Kristy, and was a diehard fan of Christmas. It was a longtime family tradition that as soon as Halloween was over, the decorations went up.
Robert Violette, 76, and Lucille Violette, 73
Bob and Lucy were married for decades, and Bob had recently retired after working as a mechanic, while Lucy still worked as a secretary for Lewiston Public Schools. They shared a love of bowling, and had played in bowling leagues and coached youth leagues for years. They were practicing with a group of young bowlers at Just-In-Time when the shooting began, and they died protecting them.
Stephen Vozzella, 45
Stephen Vozzella was 18 days shy of his first wedding anniversary with his wife, Megan, when he was shot and killed at Schemengees. He was playing cornhole with his many friends in Maine’s deaf community, a pastime he loved, alongside camping, motorcycles and softball. He’d worked as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years.
Tricia Asselin, 53
She was a rock, her family recalled. Tricia Asselin was a shoulder to lean on and confidante for friends and family, especially for her sister, Bobbi. She was also a gifted athlete and New England sports fanatic. She worked at Just-In-Time and was off the night of the shooting, but came in to bowl that night just for fun.
Jason Walker, 51
Jason Walker was a self-taught man. If he wanted to learn how to do something, he taught himself, whether it was playing the guitar, beekeeping, baking, gardening or making his own sausage. A husband and father of two, he passed that love of learning and curiosity about the world onto his family, with his son Collin noting he was always “in awe” of his dad’s meticulousness and breadth of knowledge.
Maxx Hathaway, 35
In October 2023, Maxx Hathaway was eagerly awaiting the birth of his third child with his wife, Brenda. He also was celebrating another milestone, and the couple had gone to Schemengees on the night of Oct. 25 to celebrate his receiving his diploma from the University of Southern Maine after obtaining a bachelor's degree in business. Brenda had left with their youngest daughter not long before the shooting began.
Ronald Morin, 55
Ronald Morin loved to laugh. He loved his dogs, Abbey and Remy. He worked for the Coca-Cola company for more than three decades, and was only a few years away from retirement when he died. He and his wife had long planned to relocate to Charleston, South Carolina to be closer to his two children, who both live there. Morin was an umpire for softball games in the Lewiston-Auburn area for years, and a softball field in Lewiston was named for him in June of this year.
Joshua Seal, 36
Mainers may have recognized Joshua Seal as one of several sign language interpreters during Dr. Nirav Shah’s regular televised briefings during the COVID-10 pandemic. But to his friends and family, he was Josh, a devoted friend, husband and father, a proud member of Maine’s deaf community, and a talented disc golfer. He was one of four deaf victims on a nine-member all-deaf cornhole team playing at Schemengees on the night of the shooting.
Thomas Conrad, 34
After he graduated from Oak Hill High School in Sabattus, Tommy Conrad joined the U.S. Army. and eventually served a tour of duty in Iraq. Afterwards, he returned home to Maine, where he had a daughter, Caroline, who he said was his number one motivator in life. Less than a year prior to the shootings, he became the manager of Just-in-Time Recreation, where on Oct. 25 he died trying to stop the shooter.
