In Her Honor: A Legacy of Love, Loss, and Leadership

MANHATTAN, Mont.—As I sit in Mark and Chantel (Holien) Doherty’s dining room, I can’t help but notice the little things. Their coordinating hot pink shirts. The way the college sweethearts look at each other, eye contact their shared source of strength. Stained glass glistens in the window.

And then there’s a picture of their daughter Delaney—reminding me why I’m here. Her photo smiles back at me, brightening the room as she had done countless times in her short 17 years of life.

An all-American kid. She was blonde and bubbly, worked at Starbucks, played sports, and was everyone’s best friend.

We sit together and take a collective deep breath.

What followed was one of the most tragic yet inspirational testimonies I’ve ever heard as the couple from small-town Montana recounted the summer of 2023—when, just weeks before her senior year of high school, their daughter was involved in a tragic car accident.

From Jamestown to Montana: A Story Begins

Let’s rewind for a moment to where Mark ’99 and Chantel’s ’01 story begins—nearly 30 years ago on the Jamestown College campus. Neither of them—then just young students with big dreams—could have imagined the beautiful, heartbreaking, and faith-filled road they would one day walk together.

Chantel, now a Title I teacher in Manhattan, Montana, arrived on campus from Fargo. Mark, a Montana native and manager with Pfizer, had been recruited to play baseball for the Jimmies. Their paths crossed the day Chantel moved into her dorm, when Mark, then an RA in Watson Hall, offered to help carry her belongings upstairs.

“I tried to hit on her a couple of times and it did not go well,” Mark jokes. Chantel was quiet, more reserved than Mark. And although it took some time (and an awkward phone call) the two began dating.

They fell in love in those formative years at Jamestown. Their relationship grew through student teaching, graduate school, and job changes. They got married, welcomed their daughter Delaney into the world, and moved from North Dakota to Montana.

A Life That Shone Bright

From the beginning, Delaney Doherty was a burst of energy—bright, imaginative, strong-willed, and full of joy.

“She was feisty,” Chantel says, a smile forms on her face as memories flood to the surface. “She had her own way of doing things, even as a toddler. But she was also so full of light. She could make people laugh in an instant.”

Even as a young child, Delaney had a magnetic presence. The only child hosted dance recitals in the living room, cast her parents in pretend plays, and orchestrated make-believe adventures with an imagination that couldn’t be contained.

Her energy filled every space she entered—and when she discovered softball, that energy turned into discipline.

“She may not have been the most naturally gifted, but no one worked harder,” Mark says with pride. “She’d be out in the yard for hours hitting. She’d call me after practice and say, ’Dad, we need to go work.’ She didn’t want to be great for the sake of it. She wanted to make people proud.”

Delaney grew into the kind of leader who brought others with her.

“She wanted others to feel valued,” Chantel says. “She made space for people.”

Beyond her achievements, the young girl with big dreams had a remarkable heart. I could write a whole book on the stories others have shared with the Dohertys—kind-hearted moments Delaney kept to herself.

At practice, the dedicated athlete would stay late to help younger players. At school, she’d invite the quiet kid to sit with her group. She was a bridge-builder, a joy-spreader, and a quiet force. The epitome of a servant leader, even at such a young age.

Delaney was kind. She was fierce. She was joyful.

And she lived—truly lived.

“She was always on the go. Go, go, go,” says Mark with a smirk. “Looking back, it’s almost like she knew she needed to fit everything in a shorter amount of time.”

The Day Everything Changed

As Chantel recounted that unimaginable moment from August 3, 2023, her attention drifted out a nearby window, preparing herself to relive the day after which nothing would be the same.

“It was a completely normal day,” Chantel says shaking her head in disbelief.

Chantel was hiking in Big Sky. Mark was working 2.5 hours away in Great Falls. And Delaney was at a friend’s house helping take care of their pets.

It was just four days after the 4.0 student and incoming class president had her senior photos taken.

“I got this call, and it was a Manhattan police officer,” Mark says as tears well in his eyes. “He said, ’Do you have a daughter named Delaney…and does she have blonde hair.’ And I said ’I do, is she okay? What’s going on?’”

The officer told him Delaney was in a car accident and was being life-flighted to Bozeman.

“I was 2.5 hours away. I couldn’t get up there quickly,” Mark recounts. He called Chantel in a frenzy. “I got a hold of her, praise God, she had cell phone service.”

Chantel made it to the hospital and watched as the helicopter landed. Watched as their daughter was carted off. Mark started “driving like a mad man” as he puts it, trying with everything in him to get to Delaney.

“I prayed to God. Please, God. And in my brain, I thought okay, she, like,” he chokes over every word. “She broke her leg, and she won’t get to play sports for a while.”

“I think that was God’s way of protecting us,” Chantel adds. “I’m sitting there in that hospital, and I never thought that she was going to die. Maybe she won’t walk again, but who cares? Yeah, I just,” She pauses for breath. “My mind never went there, ever.”

The doctor met Chantel outside Delaney’s room and told her something unbelievable—not just a parent’s worst fear, but the kind of statement that rewrites who you are: “I’m really concerned she’s not going to make it.”

The doctor asked Chantel if she wanted to go in the room, warning her about the intense scene she would witness.

“And I was like ’Yeah, I’m her mom, of course I want to be with her,’” Chantel says.

In this moment, it’s so clear to me that Chantel’s strength does not shout. It steadies. It uplifts. It carries others through. It brings me to tears. I wish you could hear it firsthand.

“’I don’t care what state she’s in,’” she continues recounting that moment. “’I’m going in there. I’m being with her.’ And I just stormed in her room.”

“You’re the strongest woman I know,” Mark says looking at his wife in disbelief. He’s heard this story before, but the admiration is and will always be there. “That would have wrecked me forever,” he whispers.

Chantel held her daughter’s hand as her mother’s instinct told her the hard truth—a truth the medical team had not yet accepted.

“I remember seeing her and right away thinking, she’s not there. That’s not her. That’s her body but I knew she was gone. I knew she was with Jesus.”

The medical team continued to work on Delaney. After more than 40 minutes of CPR, they asked Chantel if they “could call it.”

“And I said, ’Yeah, I’ve been trying to tell you—she’s gone. She’s home.’”

Delaney Doherty was killed in a head-on collision. Although Delaney did everything right—her seatbelt was on, and she was driving the speed limit free of distractions—an oncoming driver tragically swerved across the center lane into Delaney’s path.

Chantel was forced to break the news to Mark—Delaney’s father, coach, and life champion.

“I was screaming, pounding the steering wheel, shouting ’why?’”

The recounted heartbreak was palpable.

“The hospital let me get there,” Mark continues. “They didn’t haul her away or anything,” he says with gratitude. “They let me get there so we could go see her and say our goodbyes.”

Leaving the hospital, Mark and Chantel drove home in a fog.

“The first thing I said to my dad after I collapsed in his arms back at the house was, ’I just don’t want anyone to ever forget her,’” Mark recalls.

That moment became a guiding promise: Delaney would not be forgotten.

The silence that followed said everything. Mark looked at Chantel, their grief still fresh, still sharp—but their bond visibly unshaken.

Turning Grief into Impact

In the months that followed, Mark and Chantel began a mission to ensure Delaney’s memory lived on—not just in stories, but in action.

“We quickly realized Delaney wouldn’t want us to become shadows of ourselves. She wouldn’t want us to quit on life,” Chantel says, her voice steady. “So we keep going. We do good. Because she would have.”

They turned their grief into motion.

It started with softball. Delaney had long dreamed of better facilities for her team.

In her honor, the community rallied. A modest fundraising goal quickly turned into a $90,000 campaign in just three weeks. To an outsider like me, it’s miraculous. To the community, it’s Delaney. She deserves this honor. She earned it.

Today, the Delaney Doherty Diamond and its adjacent batting cages—facilities Delaney had always dreamed of—are home to softball players across the region.

Mark and Chantel have poured their hearts and souls into these softball sanctuaries.

A real-life field of dreams, the diamond is more than a corner lot with spray painted lines. It’s champion-level quality with dugouts, fences, a manicured field, and a team logo that Mark hand painted. He walks the grounds regularly to pick up stray trash.

A “D” surrounded by flowers is sewn into the fence in the left field where Delaney played.

The batting cages are college-level quality, and they’re big—matching the mountains that surround them. Delaney’s picture hangs in the space that will create future champions. As her photo once again smiles back at me, I realize she is forevermore cheering on her team from above—looking out for young players as she had done so many times before.

And although they donated the facilities to Delaney’s high school, her parents prioritize accessibility. These facilities aren’t just for high school softball players. They are for the community and anyone who visits it.

“People walk into this batting cage, and they know why it’s here,” Mark says.

More than just a field or a building, these are reminders of what Delaney stood for: hard work, encouragement, and joy.

“Do it for D” and “Be the light”—words that came about organically from the community—can be seen around town on shirts, stickers on the back of buses, and community flags.

Mark and Chantel are far from done ensuring Delaney’s impact is more than the young dreamer could have ever imagined or planned for.

Because of their belief in the power of education to create life-changing opportunities, the dedicated parents also created the Delaney Doherty Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

In the last two years alone, Mark and Chantel have awarded 15 college scholarships to local students who demonstrate exceptional work ethic, a passion for learning, and a strong desire to give back to their community.

The foundation is growing. And with it, so is the joy hiding behind the grief in Mark and Chantel’s eyes. I see them each light up as they share stories of students the foundation has been able to help and the potential it has to benefit young people in the future.

They know, as do I, Delaney’s legacy will live on in perpetuity through these students.

Living Her Legacy, Guided by Faith

Faith has been central to the Dohertys’ ability to keep moving forward. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“We don’t get through this without God,” Mark says. “No way. There were moments when I understood why people fall apart—drugs, alcohol, depression. But every time we hit bottom, something would lift us back up.”

Stories from community members about Delaney’s impact and their family’s unshakeable faith have become lifelines.

“When we’re at our lowest,” Chantel says, “something happens—an unexpected message, a donation, a story about Delaney that we never heard before—and it lifts us again. It’s like God’s saying, ’She’s still making an impact.’”

Their home has become a haven for Delaney’s friends, who still gather there, text Mark on Father’s Day, or just stop by for a visit. Amazingly, the couple worries about Delaney’s friends’ well-being more than their own.

“We had them all up to the house a number of times, and we would talk to them about God,” explains Mark, who experienced the loss of a close friend his freshman year of college. “We’d say, ’Nothing will ever be the same, but God doesn’t make mistakes. We won’t understand it, but I promise every one of you, he knew he was bringing Delaney home.”’

“Before she was born, He knew what would happen,” Chantel adds. “This is bigger than us.”

Even in their darkest hours, the faith-first couple never blamed God.

“People ask us how we’re so strong, but it’s not my strength. It has nothing to do with me. It’s all on God,” Mark says. “There’s no way you get through this without some kind of faith that you’re going to see your child again.

“That you’re going to go to heaven, and she’s going to be there, and you can see it right here,” he points to his heart with so much certainty. “That’s the point. We will be together again.”

Not the End, But the Echo

As I sit here typing this article it is so clear to me—Mark and Chantel are not just Jimmie alumni. They are living testaments to the values UJ instills: compassion, leadership, and the courage to make something beautiful—to shed God’s light on the world—out of darkness.

Delaney’s number—#10—still shines from helmets and uniforms across the state. Her initials mark scholarships, fields, and the hearts of a community forever changed by her presence. Delaney’s life may have ended, but her spirit is everywhere. Her impact will continue to ripple, echoing her legacy through Montana and beyond.

And through her parents’ tireless work, Delaney is not forgotten. She never will be.

An Angel in the Outfield

In their most unforgettable season, Manhattan High’s softball team, the Tigers, did the impossible—with Delaney Doherty guiding every inning. No one could have predicted it. Not after the heartbreak. Not after the loss that left an entire town grieving. The team had never captured a state championship title before, and they weren’t expected to do so this season. When the Tigers opened their 2024 season, they did so with a space in the dugout that could never be filled. Delaney Doherty—beloved teammate, loyal friend, and starting outfielder—should have been a senior. Should have been in the lineup. Should have been chasing down fly balls and leading cheers from the field. Instead, her number 10 was on their helmets. Her name on their hearts. The team had always been close, but this season was different. Everything they did was for Delaney. In pre-game huddles, they said it out loud: “Do it for D.” And somehow, something extraordinary happened in the state tournament. After suffering a tough early loss of 12-0 to an undefeated powerhouse from Shepherd, Manhattan wasn’t supposed to go far. But they kept winning. Again and again. With grit, with fire, with something else no scoreboard could measure. “They played like they weren’t alone,” said Mark. “They played like they had an extra outfielder.” The team had talent, yes—but it wasn’t just talent that carried them. It was love. It was faith. It was Delaney. They fought their way through the bracket. Then, against all odds, they faced Shepherd again in the championship. In that final game, the Tigers had miraculous catches, home runs, and a drive that could not be stopped. As the final outs ticked away, there were tears in the bleachers, sobs in the dugout, and something unexplainable in the air. For the first time in their history, the Tigers won state. “You could just feel her,” Chantel said. “There was joy in the way they played. Confidence. Light. It felt like Delaney was out there—running beside them.” No one could deny it. This wasn’t just a championship—it was a miracle. “She would have been so proud of them,” Mark said. “But I also think—she already knew. She knew they could do it.” The team didn’t just win for Delaney. They won with her.