BROCKTON — It’s been two weeks since friends and family saw Marquies Bradshaw’s smile for the last time.
He died in the early hours of Sept. 19, at his Taunton home and life for the family will never be the same.
“It was the worst phone call I’ve ever received in my life,” Melyssa Ward, Bradshaw’s sister, said.
Both of his twin sisters received that call on Tuesday morning around eight o’clock.
Since the 32-year-old Brockton native‘s untimely death, friends and family members gathered at Bradshaw’s mother’s Brockton home to spread their condolences and share happiness.
People laughed, drank beer, and talked about their favorite memories of Bradshaw, and there were so “many.”
“Marquies helped so many people during his life. He would park the ice cream truck by the park and give ice cream out to the homeless people even if they couldn’t afford it. As long as they brought something, it was okay with Marquies,” Alyssa Ward, Bradshaw’s sister, said.
His family described him as the life of the party and a kind, caring and gentle soul.
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Bradshaw wasn’t only known for his kind heart but also known for his hustle.
He became a self-sufficient entrepreneur in 2021 after investing $15,000 into a 1973 Chevy P30 step van. Bradshaw brought it back to life and turned it into a mobile ice cream parlor selling classic ice cream favorites, hot dogs, chips, and Richie’s Super Premium Italian Ice slush.
“Getting the truck ready wasn’t easy and took a lot of time and effort. It took several months, and I sanded the rust by hand and painted it purple myself. Then, I went to a local vinyl wrap shop and paid $6,500 for galaxy vinyl wrap around the truck, and my nephew picked out the cartoon characters on the outside,” Bradshaw said in an interview in 2021.
Becoming an entrepreneur was one goal he could cross off his list, and he was proud to do so.
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“I’m the only one in my immediate family with a business. Nothing can describe how it feels to be a business owner and not have a boss breathing down your neck and telling you what to do. I always was a terrible worker. I hated working for others,” Bradshaw said in the 2021 interview.
His sisters remember the first day he brought home the step van, and they laughed at him jokingly and said “Out of all the businesses, an ice cream truck?”
But Bradshaw made them eat their words when he stripped the truck, gave it a new paint job, and asked his sisters and his nephews for popular characters to put on the truck.
“He was a goal chaser. He never gave up. He likes to complete his tasks, and we really had a plan to open a second business, a soul food truck, and the fact we weren’t able to finish is heartbreaking. We were almost there,” Anna Martins, a family friend, said.
Although his newest goals were uncompleted, his twin sisters plan to continue his legacy with the ice cream truck by keeping it on the road and in business.
The truck gives them a sense of remembrance of all the laughs and jokes Bradshaw had on the daily.
“We will never forget him. He was our brother. We’re going to miss his jokes, warm laughter, going to him for everything and anything,” Alyssa said.
Although Bradshaw is gone from the physical world, he’s impacted many people in his community.
Bradshaw was on the Brockton High School wrestling team, played baseball, rode a motorcycle and loved cooking and eating with friends. His drink was Remy Martin, and his favorite food was oysters.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his maternal grandparents, Carmen and George Bradshaw of Brockton, his two sisters, both of Brockton, two nephews and many friends.
Enterprise staff reporter Alisha Saint-Ciel can be reached by email at stciela@gannett.com You can follow her on X formally known as Twitter at @alishaspeakss and Instagram at Alishaatv . Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.
