'What would Marchek do?' St. Johns father killed in motorcycle crash had defiant lust for life

When Chuck Desander thinks of Jeremy Marchek, he recalls the aftermath of a bar fight the two had come upon. An elderly man — a bystander — had lost his glasses in the commotion, and was searching for them on the asphalt in the dark. When Marchek noticed, he walked right up to a responding officer.

"You're not doing your f----ing job," Marchek's longtime friend and boxing coach recalls him telling the officer. "You better get out your flashlight and help this man."

He was like that, friends say: strong-willed and unafraid, no matter who he was talking to.

Marchek, 42, of St. Johns, was killed in a motorcycle crash Thursday afternoon after colliding with a tractor in Clinton County. He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Amy, his two sons, Ayden, 13, and Josh, 25, and his beloved dog Ruby.

Loved ones describe Marchek as a fiercely devoted family man who loved hunting, fishing and fine bourbon, a boisterous personality that lit up a room whenever he walked in — often with colorful language.

Marchek was born in Lansing and grew up in Dixon, Illinois before moving back and settling in St. Johns. He enlisted in the Army in 2005, rising to the rank of Sergeant First Class and serving multiple tours overseas in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.

In recent years, he had taken a step back, moving to a Staff Sergeant position and working at the National Guard Armory in Owosso.

Brandon Zupko, who served two tours under Marchek in Kuwait and Jordan, said their friendship evolved over time from that of military mentor and mentee — drinking bourbon and playing poker — to a more mature dynamic as they settled into family life back home.

Marchek was a model leader, Zupko said, quick to challenge orders on behalf of his subordinates and give due credit to his troops. (He knew how to have fun, too: his unit sometimes referred to itself as the "booze platoon.")

"Anybody could relate to him," Zupko said. "And if you didn't, it was probably because you were just arrogant."

Outside of the military, Marchek was an active member of the Clinton County Boxing Club in St. Johns. Desander, the club's manager, first met Marchek as a 20-year-old hoping to train at his gym. He coached Marchek for more than two decades, forging a close friendship.

"He made me who I am," Desander said, "I'm older than him, but he was my mentor."

Marchek's his peers describe him as a dedicated fighter who pushed himself to win Michigan Golden Gloves, a regional amateur boxing tournament, in 2012. He had one professional match after that, a loss, but Desander said everyone wanted his autograph anyway.

Daniel Hicks, Marchek's friend and sparring partner for 10 years, said he was all heart. They would spar, "beating the hell out of each other," and finish with a hug before swapping pointers on each other's form.

"He was the hardest, meanest, softest teddy bear you've ever met in your life," Hicks said. "He was rough around the edges, because he didn't really care how things came out, but he was the type of man who would do anything for you."

Josh Greenfield, Marchek's neighbor and friend of 10 years, said he was like a brother to him.

"I was thinking earlier today, we have such a short time in this world," he said. "We have to make the most out of every second. He did."

At the boxing gym, "What would Marchek do?" was a common mantra. The members even had custom glasses and bracelets made bearing the motto, a reminder to embody Marchek's straightforward, determined approach to life.

Marchek also coined his own informal "religion," Marchekism, a joke among his platoon. The key tenet of Marchekism, Zupko said, was a defiant sense of invincibility — being the best at what you do and not taking no for an answer.

"He was a unique flavor," Desander said. "And after you got a taste of him, you just loved him to death."

A memorial service with military honors will be held at 2571 W. Price Road in St. Johns on what would have been Marchek's 43rd birthday, May 17.

Contact reporter Annabel Aguiar at aaguiar@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @annabelaguiar.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: St. Johns father, soldier Jeremy Marchek remembered as larger than life