Ziggy, Paul, Dean, Ray and Ron singing karaoke at a New Year’s Eve party hosted by St. John residents Laurie and Craig Crandall.
After 17 years on island — 15 of which she spent hosting DJ and karaoke events on St. John and St. Thomas — Debbie Marquis is moving to Maine to be closer to her family.
For years Marquis has delighted islanders with a penchant for singing during weekly karaoke gigs at Island Blues, occasional appearances at Mooie’s and Patricia and Patrick Moorehead’s (P&P’s) and local gigs.
She is now heading north to join her mother, father, six brothers and sisters, daughter, Heidi, and son, Brandon, but did not want to leave without thanking her devout karaoke fans.
“I want to thank all my local karaoke followers that I’ve had so much fun singing and partying with, and all the locals who hired me for special karaoke parties.” Marquis said. “I am going to miss all of these people very much.”
Marquis plans to look for karaoke gigs and hopes to work with wedding and party planners in Maine to DJ local events, but she said she will miss her work at Caribbean Villas, Lucky Pagoda and of course, her boisterous business, Debbie Does Karaoke.
“If I could split myself in two, I would stay here, but there comes a time when family is more important,” she said. “But I will never forget you all.”
Marquis could not leave island without giving a shout-out to her faithful roadie on St. Thomas, Dean Thomas, who helped her unload and reload her DJ equipment over the years.
“He is my best friend,” she said. “He made my jobs way easier — he busted his back so I didn’t have to bust mine.”
