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| Mason Storm DeRosier |
Mason Storm DeRosier was nervous. He was living in St. Cloud and in his first year of college training for a career as a paramedic at St. Cloud State University and he was wondering if he could handle the stress of being an emergency service worker and even if he would like it. So he did what he always did, he talked to his father.
Mason's father, Richard DeRosier, has nearly 30 years experience as an investigator with the Lake County Sheriff's Office and also as a firefighter in Silver Bay and has seen the uglier side of life as a police officer and firefighter. Richard counseled his son to try to detach himself from the situation and go about his work, a lesson Mason's father said has left him with "a little more hardened, calloused attitude."
Not long after they talked, Mason encountered an accident in St. Cloud and pulled his car over to see if he could help any of the injured victims. He told his dad, even from the small amount of knowledge he had from his courses, the reaction was automatic.
"I didn't even think about whether I could do it, whether I could handle it," Mason told his dad. "I just did it."
Richard said his son was always interested in pursuing a career in public service and doing what he could to give back to the community he lived in. After graduating from William Kelley High School in Silver Bay, Mason joined the Air Force to help pay for his education. After boot camp in San Antonio, Texas, he became a firefighter with the 148th Fighter Wing of the Minnesota National Guard. After returning from a deployment, he started college at SCSU, but in a tragic twist, Mason died suddenly April 9, 2015, just three days before his 22nd birthday.
To honor his memory, Richard and his wife, Lisa DeRosier, are organizing the "Storm the Trails" ATV ride Aug. 20 to raise money for the Mason Storm DeRosier Memorial Scholarship for those interested in pursuing a career as a firefighter or paramedic.
"What we want to do is honor him with scholarships for firefighting and paramedics because that was what he wanted to do and that was his purpose if you will," Richard said. "That was what his whole life was going to be about, that was what his career was going to be and where he was going to make his mark."
Richard said his son was "kind-hearted" and dedicated to a career of service and helping others, saying Mason told him once, "You have to be the change you want to see in the world."
Richard said during Mason's six month deployment to Kuwait at Ali Al Salem Air Base, one of the jobs that became most important to his son was his duty during dignified transfers, which is a procedure honoring the return of the remains of a service member killed in service of the United States.
"At one point he called me in the middle of the night and he said that he did some research on the guy that they had watched over and the guy was married, had two young children, played football and was just 26 years old and it just ruined him," Richard said.
Throughout his deployment, Mason kept in touch with his family through phone calls and Skype video chat. Richard said he would talk to his son at any time, whether he was working or not.
"I'd have him on the phone while I was working on a high speed chase or waiting on a drug bust and he was on the other end of the line," Richard said.
Mason loved his time with the 148th and he loved working as a firefighter with the unit. Richard said the 148th was all his son talked about after he returned and after his death, the outpouring of support from the unit for the DeRosier family was tremendous.
"In the days and moments since he passed away it was unbelievable support," he said. "I can certainly understand where he was coming from after the couple of years he was part of it."
Being a firefighter and a paramedic was part of the fabric of who Mason was as a person and his family wants to keep his memory alive by encouraging others to follow in his footsteps and hopefully alleviate some of the financial burden of becoming an emergency service worker.
The Storm the Trails ride will begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 20 in the Superior Hiking Trail parking lot on Penn Boulevard in Silver Bay. A $30 donation will get riders a barbecue sandwich basket as well as two drink tickets. There will also be a door prize all riders are eligible for and other prizes raffled off or available through a silent auction.
The ride will follow the state ATV trail to the site of Dixie Bar and Grill outside Two Harbors. The bar was destroyed by a fire in June, but owners Scott and Deanna Larson are close friends of the DeRosiers. Instead of the originally planned burger baskets, a mobile smoker will be brought in to cook the meat for the sandwiches.
Riders can purchase tickets in advance by the website the DeRosier family set up, www.masonstormscholarship.com or by going to the Facebook page, Mason Storm Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser ATV Ride. The family will also be at the start of the ride at 8 a.m. Aug. 20 to help register people the day of the event. They do ask riders to contact them through the website or Facebook page so they have an idea of the number of people planning to attend.
