Old Colony Archives
Community pays tribute to young accident victim
By Rachel G. Thomas, Standard-Times staff writer
February 8, 1998
ROCHESTER -- The bouquets, their fragile blossoms closed to the winter chill, lay on the brown earth. The immovable oak loomed over them, its fresh wound marking the spot where Jacob Duff died.
His friends, who had arrived virtually nonstop for the past 36 hours, protected their equally fragile emotions as they stood vigil, the only sound an occasional sniffle.
Sandy Charron had seen them come, go, and come back.
"I had just opened the blinds this morning. It must have been about 8:30, 9 o'clock," Mrs. Charron said as she stood in her front yard yesterday, her home behind her, the tree ahead.
"That was when I saw the three girls. One was on the ground. She was so upset, the two other girls joined her there."
The accident scene -- where Jacob, an 18-year-old Old Colony Voc-Tech junior, and his friend, James Bolte, 18, of Marion, crashed in Jacob's car late Thursday night -- had become the place for young people to begin to consider the unthinkable.
James, a senior at Old Rochester Regional High School, was reported in serious condition yesterday at Tobey Hospital.
Jacob's friends also left their tributes on New Bedford Road itself. "God will take care of you, Jake," said one message, spray-painted in white.
"Basically, it's been children, about his age," Mrs. Charron said. "They're taking it really hard."
Her eyes rose to take in the scene as two young men knelt to read names etched in black marker on the naked tree trunk, and on a nearby cross, made Friday in the school's carpentry shop.
"They think they're invincible," she said, shaking her head.
Elsewhere in town, that sentiment was echoed by several people, in the same breath as the words, "tragedy" and "again."
The Rev. John P. Lyons was not among them.
In his study at St. Rose of Lima Church, the pastor blinked away the bright afternoon sun and gestured toward a few papers lying on his computer printer.
"I've just been working on what I was going to say at church tomorrow," he said, referring to Sunday Mass.
Jacob had no such illusions about himself, Father Lyons said. He knew more about the young man's delicate spirit than most people.
"I saw him every week," Father Lyons said. "One on one. He was here every Friday, and he knew he didn't have to be."
The young man sought guidance to deal with some of the challenges many young people face, Rev. Lyons said. "He was trying very hard. And he was succeeding."
Jacob had a lot of help from adults who cared for him, Rev. Lyons said. "The teachers at that school care very deeply about their young people," he said. "I have seen several of them here."
Vincent Ryan's arms were laden with eggs and milk as he left the cash register at Lloyd's Market, the town's main meeting place. But Mr. Ryan still paused to talk about Jacob's death and the people he admired, who would help others heal.
"We have a wonderful bunch of people at Old Colony," said Mr. Ryan, chairman of the Regional School Committee that oversees the vocational school. "They take an active, personal interest in every one of their students' well-being."
Mr. Ryan said he did not know Jacob, but added he felt the young man's death as a loss his town, and school, have seen far too much of for their size.
"We've had a lot of experience dealing with it, that's for sure," he said.
Two Old Colony Vocational-Technical High School students, Margo Meleo of Lakeville and Jamie Regan of Acushnet, died in June 1992 when the car in which they were riding struck a tree. Another student, Christy Marcondes, still is recovering from injuries received in a June 1996 crash.
"It's always hard to deal with," Mr. Ryan said. Behind the counter, cashier Vivian Graham nodded. "People have been talking about it, asking me, 'Did you know him?' He has a big family, and a lot of people are upset. Really, what a tragedy."
A woman loaded groceries onto the cart as her teen-age son added more snacks to the load. "These kids have had more than their share," she said. "But you have to tell them to keep on trucking."
Father Lyons hoped to share that sentiment, in a more spiritual way, with his parishioners.
"People are part of God's garden," he said. "He picks some of the flowers after they have ripened and gone to seed. Others he picks at the very peak of their bloom. "Jake was just starting to blossom."
Staff photos by Hank Seaman
Top: Jacob Duff's cousin Ken Vieira, right, sheds a tear as friends Andy Comeau, left, and
Lucas Webb pay their respects at a makeshift memorial where Jacob, 18, died Thursday
night in a car accident on New Bedford Road in Rochester.
Middle: His eyes filling with tears, the Rev. John P. Lyons, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in Rochester, remembers
Jacob Duff, the 18-year-old who regularly sought guidance from Rev. Lyons. "He was trying very hard," Rev. Lyons said. "And he was succeeding."
Bottom: A cross and skinned tree at a makeshift memorial where the teen-ager died last week is signed by those paying their
respects on New Bedford Road in Rochester.
Jacob Mitchell Duff
December 26, 1979 - February 6, 1998
WAREHAM -- Jacob Mitchell Duff, 18, of Rochester, died Friday, Feb. 6, 1998, at Tobey Hospital from injuries received in an automobile accident in Rochester.
He was the son of Vanessa J. (Plaud) Duff of Rochester and John Duff of Fairhaven.
Born in New Bedford, he lived in Rochester most of his life. He was a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Church.
Mr. Duff was a student at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in the carpentry program. He also had worked for his uncle, Howard Plaud in Acushnet, doing carpentry work.
Survivors include his parents; his stepmother, Cheryl Duff of Fairhaven; his stepfather, Wayne Perry of Rochester; three brothers, Justin P.L. Duff, Kaleb S. Perry and Cody W. Perry, all of Rochester; two sisters, Cybil M. Perry and Haley J. Perry, both of Rochester; two stepbrothers, James Tolman and Ryan Tolman, both of Fairhaven; his grandmothers, Joan M. Plaud of Acushnet and Polly A. Duff of Mattapoisett; his great-grandmother, Gladys Leeks of Rochester and several aunts, uncles and cousins. He was the grandson of the late Lawrence Plaud and Peter W. Duff.