Balloons swayed in the wind at the memorial for 5-year old Kashmir Marquis, who was killed in a fire at 4011 Barnes Ave. last week.
Photo Steven Goodstein
In response to the fire on Barnes Avenue in Wakefield, which killed 5-year-old Kashmir Marquis earlier this month, the northeast Bronx community joined together with balloons on Wednesday night to pay their respects to the toddler’s family.
The Jan. 10 memorial drew a crowd of more than 200 people including family members, friends and northeast Bronx residents, who remembered Marquis as a fun-loving kid. The memorial also included a slideshow displaying pictures of Marquis along with pictures of him and his mother, Keyion Gonzales-Marquis, while the instrumental of Puff Daddy’s song “I’ll Be Missing You” played in the background.
Gonzales-Marquis said her son was a happy, playful, loving and energetic kid who was also very independent for his age. He enjoyed all activities, especially basketball and skating, the latter of which was self-taught.
Marquis went to private school at Our Lady of Grace, then the Susan Wagner Day School, before he attended P.S. 21 The Philip Sheridan School, the same institution where Gonzales-Marquis was school president and valedictorian during her tenure as a student.
“He didn’t need to follow the exact path I took, but when I was raising Kashmir I felt like I was raising a better version of myself,” Gonzales-Marquis said
She said her son also loved pizza and would always shout out, “It’s a pizza party,” whenever pizza was in the household.
“I don’t wish this pain on anybody. No parent, no person, should ever have to feel this way,” Gonzales-Marquis added. “However, I will always have the memories and that is what is giving me strength right now.”
Gonzales-Marquis, who has always resided at 4011 Barnes Ave., said that she plans on doing something in response to the tragedy and raised the possibility of starting a nonprofit…
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