OCTOBER 2018
PAGE 12
From “Princessâ€? to Queen Maker‌ with a Detour Into and Out of the Abyss
Celeste Ducharme is the epitome of today’s successful woman: Educated, hardworking, dedicated, driven, goal-oriented, family-centric, and passionate. A devoted wife and mother, Celeste has created three successful businesses and is widely respected within the community for her integrity, compassion for others, and proven leadership skills. She is so well respected, that she was asked in 2015 to contribute a chapter in the best-selling book, Turn Possibilities into Realities, created by Lisa Marie Platske. “I grew up in Orange County and had two parents who loved and supported me exceedingly. With their love and support, I managed to make it through the normal numerous challenges most teenagers experience. Even though I lost my Dad in my early twenties and recognized it is never easy for anyone to lose a parent, through life’s myriad ups and downs, I always found a way to push forward with joy and succeed.� That is how Celeste begins her chapter in the aforementioned book. But these opening statements belie the deeper challenges that she faced going from living a family life reminiscent of the “Cunninghams� of Happy Days fame to struggling to emerge whole following the heart wrenching breakup of her nuclear family due to a divorce. Celeste, was born in Van Nuys, California. Both her parents, Chuck and Tami Collins, loved her dearly, as did her mother’s mother, Ann Stephenson. In addition to being an above-average student, Celeste excelled in sports – especially softball, volleyball and tennis. From her parents and grandmother, she learned quickly that
the key to success in her studies and athletics was hard work. Celeste’s father worked closely with his talented daughter to hone her athletic skills. He played catch with her with a softball nearly every morning year-round. In her words, he was always there for her. And she expected that to always be the case. Just as Celeste was reaching great heights scholastically and in sports, life threw Celeste a curve. Her parents were having severe marital problems that were because of, or at least exacerbated by, his addictive drinking. The shock of what was happening to their once close-knit family was to take a devastating toll on all involved, especially Celeste. At the tender age of only 14, Celeste began adding a little something to her morning orange juice; vodka. Early on, as is so often the case with many, her little “juice� in the morning seemed to help her cope with the stress building around her. It continued on for years and slowly, insidiously, got worse. Celeste sadly became proud of herself for being able to hold her liquor, which her friends both admired and eventually feared. When she was 15 years old the divorce was finalized and things continued to get worse. She began partying harder on the weekends, and, since she was such a strong, gifted athlete was on varsity teams with older girls, which didn’t help the situation. Sober on important days, especially game days, Celeste kept up her secret. Inevitably, Celeste graduated to drugging. She knew she shouldn’t be doing the things she was doing to hurt her athletic career while attending Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills, California, but drinking and drugging helped the hurt go away. Celeste was angry about the divorce. And she was angry about her father’s alcoholism, which ultimately took his life at the young age of 57. Despite that anger, she continued to excel at sports, particularly with respect to softball, earning a scholarship to Chapman College where she again proved to be a star player. Unfortunately, a severe ankle injury ended her softball career abruptly. The summer after graduating high school Celeste got a reality check when a close friend checked into rehab. Watching this experience was eye opening and life changing as Celeste decreased her use of drinking and stopped drugging. Celeste’s life began to change after getting a career started at Nordstrom and she met the love of her life: Roger. Her new-found life with the man she would ultimately marry came with another gift. Celeste made a conscious decision to give her life to Christ. As a result, for her as it has been and always will be for others, this dramatically changed her life for the better. “Living the Golden Rule and putting all my faith in Jesus, for me, has enabled me to put my past behind me and to prosper in ways I stopped believing were possible for me,� said Celeste. “I can’t imagine what life would be like today if I hadn’t met Roger and made the commitment to live a Christian life. Having a husband who trusts and loves you helps you achieve so much more than one ever could alone.�