When a life is lost right at the cusp of adulthood, it is all the more painful. But this father wanted to make sure the loss of his son did not mean those who loved him had to suffer…
Mackenzie Stewart was in her senior year of high school and like every teenage girl, she was incredibly excited about her prom. She planned on going to prom with her long-time boyfriend, Marshall Curtis.
The couple had been together for a while and Mackenzie could not imagine going with anyone else. But then the unthinkable happened, Marshall met with a car accident that took his life just a month before senior prom.
Since she had never imagined going with anyone else, she decided not to go to prom at all. But Marshall’s dad Carson Curtis, could not see that happening and decided to step in.
“She wasn’t going to go, but I was honored to ask her, and she accepted and she cried and it was emotional and I was honored to take her,” Curtis said.
The grieving father asked to go to prom with her and she emotionally accepted. The reason he did it was because he had gotten quite close to her over the course of his son’s relationship with her, and did not want the young girl to miss out on such a monumental day.
“She’s been a big part of our family for over two years now and she’s Marshall’s girl. It wasn’t easy, but we were overwhelmed of all the support of the community, the people who stand behind us near and far. We love Mackenzie like our own daughter,” he said.
On the big night, they pulled up to the venue of the prom, the Blackville School in a bright yellow 1965 Volkswagen Bradley. The back of the car was embellished with a picture of the young couple with a sticker that read, “Marshall and Makenzie forever.”
“I guess I did the right thing. I was kind of nervous thinking maybe [people would think], ‘What’s this old guy doing here?’ But everything worked out, and my whole family — we just can’t believe the supportive community we have,” Curtis said.
The night was made all the more special with Mackenzie winning the title of prom queen.
“He would be so proud, so proud of everybody. All his buddies were there. It was just like he was there, and I believe he was there,” Curtis said emotionally.
