Published in The Post-Star (B3)
8/3/06
STILLWATER -- Denise Roberge Quickenton is remembered in her hometown with words like "bubbly," "energetic" and "exuberant." Today, family and friends will attend her funeral at United Church of Stillwater.
The vivacious 29-year-old was seven months pregnant with her first child when she collapsed and died suddenly Saturday at Fenway Park in Boston, where she and her husband had traveled to watch their favorite team, the Red Sox.
Paramedics were able to save her son, Maxwell Gregory, but Denise died almost instantly, said her father, John Roberge of Stillwater.
Preliminary autopsy results showed she had a pre-existing heart condition that had gone undetected, he said Wednesday.
"That's all we know so far," he said, adding that Maxwell is doing "fabulously" in the neonatal intensive unit at Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston, where everyone from the janitor to the president of the hospital has stopped by to check on him.
"People have been very supportive," he said, relating a story about a parking attendant in Boston who got in his car and led Roberge and his wife, Mary, to the hospital when they stopped to ask directions and explained the family's situation.
"I tried to give him something, and he just said, 'No. I have a daughter, too,'" Roberge said.
Roberge described his daughter as a "lovely, well-rounded girl" who was an honor student throughout high school and college. She loved community theater, and was active in the Stillwater Players Among Others in her late teens and early 20s.
"She always had this great smile. I can still see it right now when I think about her," said Cynthia Petronis, a member of Stillwater theater group. "She cared so much, about so many things."
Her first role was a small appearance as a vampire bride in Dracula, and she went on to take lead roles as a singer and actress in several future dinner theater productions.
"She was quite the girl," said Jerry Petronis, another member of the group. "She always said she wanted to be a star, and we did our best to help her. She got her roles because of her smile, and the little twinkle in her brown eyes."
Denise met her future husband, Todd Quickenton, through one of the group's productions. By the time they married in 2002, Todd's passion for the Red Sox had rubbed off on Denise.
"She was probably a more avid fan -- almost rabid fan -- than he was," her father, John, remembered with a soft chuckle. "David Ortiz was her hero, so it's ironic that he won the game in extra innings after she passed."
The young couple lived in Schenectady, where Denise worked as an account executive at Mehigan, Robert & Bellone Advertising Agency.
Maxwell, who weighed just 3 pounds, 15 ounces at birth, is already breathing on his own and could be ready for transfer to Albany Medical Center within a few days, his grandfather said.
"He's a real little fighter," Roberge said. "He's a blessing that's keeping us sane."
Contributions may be made in Maxwell's name to the Trustco Bank, c/o the Maxwell Gregory Quickenton Trust Fund, 320 State St., Schenectady, NY 12305.
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