Chad Chenier

1984 - 2023

Chad Lawrence Chenier, 38, nomadically floated between Gladstone/Escanaba, MI & Marinette, WI most of his life, tied really to neither, and tethered himself instead to people – people were his home. Chadwick (as he was affectionately known as early & often & would later adopt as his chosen name – "I choose to believe my name is the name I was called by (those) people whom I grew up having the utmost love and respect for above all others") slipped into the abyss & consequently probably felt no pain when he took his last breath at 10:01 pm, Thur, March 16, 2023, at St Francis Hospital.

Very different from a cold UP night in March, Chad was born into a warm dawn with almost 100% humidity in the then Bexar (pronounced "bear") County Hospital in San Antonio on Dec 18, 1984, to Rhonda Sue Binola and Glenn Lawrence Chenier. Having spent less than a year in the Texan desert did not seem to stop him, however, from being imbued with some of that laidback Southern frivolity, bringing a little bit of spice with him to the midwest.

Precocious right from the start, Chad's introduction to many in Esky may have been his first mention in the Daily Press: a short brief stating 2-year-old Chadwick unbuckled himself inside his single mother's idling vehicle & decided to take it for a spin down the alleyway behind the Stonehouse restaurant. His early driving lesson ended when he came to a stop after hitting his second parked car. A heart as gold as the Macauley Culkin mop of hair he had, he was never mean nor tantrum-prone – just always silly, smiling, & working his smart mouth. Like the fact that at 4, he could sing the chorus of G&R's Paradise City without assistance.

Meeting Chad later in life, one would never suppose that growing up he liked Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids & had his own DIY Homeboy tee; that he loved TMNT, especially Michaelangelo ('cause he's a party dude), and making ugly Xmas cookies at his grandma's house; and that once after meeting Weird Al Yankovic in person, he said he could die happy now.

No one, however, could ever second guess how much he loved being a big brother. Not merely because he loved to play with them & have a good time, but because he was bottomlessly loyal & protective. Both of which combined made him like some kind of zen, professional baby whisperer as an adult, a moniker coined by Helene Tebear when she met him.

Although attending school in more than one place, Chad graduated from Escanaba Area HS in 2003, wearing underneath cap & gown his navy blue Dickies' work shirt with the name tag that read Slacker. At the time, he dreamt of moving near the ocean to learn surfing & maybe become a marine biologist, or perhaps own his own skate shop. He would settle, however, for various odd jobs that he was decent & capable of doing, like restaurant service or painting-type contract work.

Most noticeably, younger adult Chad had grown into much more serious fare & a far more introspective mind. A voracious reader, Chadwick enjoyed an assorted range of books, from Vonnegut's absurdist satires to Tolkien's fantasy folktales. He appreciated an occasional game of chess, which his dad had probably taught him. And Chad took a sharp turn from pop, listening instead to punk & various rap artists, definitely finding some commonality with Marshall Mathers. He adopted a sort of swagger & peacocking that one might associate with the likes of Eminem – someone fighting for respect, fighting against the system, usually just fighting to be left alone & be who he wanted to be, even if he wasn't sure what that was yet.

When it came to Chadwick, the man, however, what he did become absolutely sure of was this: he had some demons, and he made a number of bad decisions because of them.

That said – Nixon once said, "A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits." Indeed Chad may have lost the war; but he won many a successful battle, never refusing to quit. Without even knowing it, he honored his Norwegian heritage from his mom; in truth, he always thought family, courage, and perseverance were honorable. Then as the series Vikings unfolded to him, he did so purposefully. Not one for self-pitying, he once again began planning for battle just the year prior to death – attempting to learn how to face those demons head-on in a constructive manner. He knew the past was unchangeable, but he still vowed to "make things better for (Linkoln) & Asher with what future I have left." Chad couldn't promise the bad decisions would end, "but I can promise that I'll never stop trying. If I fall, I promise I'll pick myself up, dust myself off, and go back to war. I won't ever give up."

Bad decisions aside, with Chadwick one could always expect honesty (from a smart mouth), authenticity, and love – the unconditional kind. Because when you "truly love someone, you can't love them for who you wish they were, or who they may become; you gotta love them for who they are."

Chad left behind his son Linkoln, the truest purest home he ever had, seeing "every day with him as a blessing, a privilege"; Linkoln's mom Helene Tebear & her older children, whom he loved as his own, Kelton, Zoe, Tansy, Rainah, & Asher Beauvais; his father, Glenn (Carol) Chenier; his mother, Rhonda Binola; his paternal grandmother, Nancy Chenier; his maternal & paternal brothers & sisters, Herbie Meier III, Vincent Binola, Wesley & Raina Panske, and also, Ryan Chenier, Cory Chenier, & Jenna Chenier; his aunts & uncle, Stephanie (Mark) Makosky, Nicole (Ken) Hale, & Waino Binola; one nephew, Leonard Parr; cousins; and certainly a Wendy Darling & plenty of other Lost Boys.

Unconditionally loved family to go before him include his paternal grandfather, Lawrence ("Larry") Chenier; and his maternal grandparents, Waino & Susann Binola.

Chadwick, to whatever home you've taken to now, hopefully, it's somewhere where the grass is green. And the girls are pretty.