Delaney Doherty Memorial Scholarship established by an incredible family

I got to know Mark Doherty when we were both young, only Mark was a little bit younger.  He was about 4 years younger than me to be more precise and good friends with my little brother, Rob.  Mark was the type of kid who was just fun to be around.  His smile and laugh would brighten a room and believe me, that kid was always smiling.  There were a lot of Nintendo Tecmo Bowl tournaments with a group of friends that would usually end with a controller being pulled out and one of us in a headlock.  But it was never Doherty on the receiving or giving end.  He would just laugh.  Be it on the Tecmo Bowl screen or one of our many pickup basketball games with him and his father, Dennis out at the old Y fitness center, Mark was always, just...positive.  In all of the years of semi-heated competition, I don't believe I have ever seen Mark angry or cross.  He's always been one of the good guys.

Over the years, Mark and I have lost contact a bit, but I always enjoyed following him on Facebook where he would post pictures of his beautiful wife, Chantal, and their amazing daughter, Delaney.  They would post pictures from their trips to Missoula for Montana Football and even dedicated a room in their house to their beloved Griz.  They would post pictures of Delaney's softball adventures where she became a standout athlete for the Manhattan Tigers.  Delaney was not only blessed with her father's athletic ability but with his charm as she was elected student body president for the upcoming year where she would be a Senior.  Delaney carried a perfect grade-point average through high school.  Even though I had never met Delaney, I felt as though I had known her forever.  I could hear Mark's laugh in her smiling pictures.

And then everything changed.  On August 3, Mark and Chantal were visited by a Montana Highway Patrol officer with devastating news.  Delaney's young, vibrant life had been taken in a car accident.  The worst news a parent could ever possibly receive.

But instead of giving in to sorrow and despair, Mark and Chantal took this incredible tragedy and began to turn it into something positive.  Something beautiful. They built batting cages in honor of Delaney's passion and talent.  But now they are taking it a step further with the creation of the Delaney Doherty Memorial Scholarship.  The Doherty Family is in the process of getting the proper legal paperwork established and an account will be created at Manhattan Bank.  With this scholarship, Delaney's "light, love and spirit" will continue to shine.  Please consider a donation in honor of a special young person in your life or just in memory of an incredible young woman who was taken from this world too soon and her loving family who, somehow, continue to smile.