The Reverend Cadores Purnell Marshall Brickous

She was born at home on Aug. 16, 1925, in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, to Chester Marshall Sr. and Mary Eliza Tankard Marshall. Her grandparents were Dolly Brickhouse (pronounced Brick-iss) Tankard and Louis Perry Tankard of Exmore, Virginia. Cadores' family had lived in what is now the state of Virginia since the late 1600s.

Her parents moved to Oyster Bay along with several extended family members during the Great Migration. They followed the oyster harvest, returning to their farms in the winter. Her older sisters were born in Virginia. Cadores was the first child of her siblings to be born in the hamlet, close to the beach, on South Street.

During the Great Depression, when Cadores was very little, her parents began working on the estates of prominent families of the North Shore of Long Island; Mary as a domestic, and Chester as a barber. Her mother, Mary Marshall, with others from their small community, were instrumental in founding the Mount Olive Baptist Church, on South Street (aka the Battery), Oyster Bay in 1927. Mary also worked as the registrar of Black voters in District 7 in Oyster Bay beginning in 1931, allowing family and friends to vote for candidates for the first time in their lives. Her children, including young Cadores, were inspired by their mother's spiritual and civic activism, which they all participated in during their lifetimes.

Cadores was christened in the Methodist denomination and was raised in the Baptist church. They all sang in the church choir and served as ushers. Cadores and her sisters belonged to the first Girl Scout Troop for young women of color in Oyster Bay. Her eldest sister, Viola, was the troop's founder.

Cadores was a graduate of Oyster Bay High School and the New York Institute of Dietetics. She was also a student at the Long Island Bible Institute and the conference studies of the AME Zion Church.

Cadores was married at an early age to Warren Jackson who served overseas during WWII. She was the mother of three children. She worked in the dietary department of L.I. Jewish Hospital. She worked as a dietician at the Community Hospital at Glen Cove. She married later in life to Thomas Brickous.

In 1980, she answered a calling to become an Evangelist. She purchased a used school bus and refurbished it to become a chapel on wheels. She called it "Sanctuary," her Wayside Ministry.

On Aug. 16, 1981, at the Marshall family home, Rev. David A. Hunt - former pastor of the historic, Hood AME Zion Church of Oyster Bay - led a ceremony dedicating the bus to God's mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was blessed by other ministers and lay persons who had followed her journey to that day. These were men and women who encouraged her to pursue her ministry, including Rev. Emma Davis of Glen Cove and Locust Valley, Rev. David Maseko of Malawi, Africa and others too numerous to name. Her very proud mother, Mary Marshall, 84 years young, also was in attendance.

In 1982, she resigned from her position as dietary training coordinator at Community Hospital, to pursue her ministerial studies and be a companion to her mother, still living at home. During that period of her life, Rev. Brickous became a member of the Hood AME Zion Church and is believed to be the first African American born in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, to be ordained to the ministry.

In 1986, the community was invited to join her in celebration as she preached her first sermon as an ordained minister. She was involved in numerous church and community organizations; a member of the Oyster Bay and Norwich clergy, Oyster Bay East Norwich Family and Counseling Agency, a Council of Churches, Oyster Bay Interreligious Council, Long Island Dietetic Association, NAACP, and volunteered at the Babcock-Doubleday Senior Center.

She was the recipient of numerous awards and citations for her work in the dietetic department of the Community Hospital of Glen Cove, where she also had started visiting and ministering to patients and the local community.

After her mother died she visited with her daughter and grandchildren in Franklin and Oneonta where she attended the First United Methodist Church. The Rev William Bouton was the minister at the time and the congregation welcomed her graciously.

She visited with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren in Utica. She became a resident and instituted the first Bible Studies class for senior citizens who attended the Cosmopolitan Center, Oneida County Office for the Aging.

During her tenure of service, Rev. Brickous was a conference Evangelist and Associate Minister at Hope Chapel, AME Zion Church in Utica, under the administration of five pastors, culminating with the Rev. Robert E. Williams, and his wife, Deborah. She found a welcoming new family at Hope Chapel in Pastor's Steward, Edward Fite and his wife, Deaconess Barbera Fite; Rev. Tony Weston and his wife, Joanie; members of the Home Mission who honored her in 2008; cherished friend, Mrs. Victoria Pierson; and too many, young and old, to name in the historic Hope Chapel family. She looked forward to the church's reunion and picnics at Harriet Tubman's home in Auburn. (She proudly wore her reunion shirt at the nursing home.) She retired after 36 years in the ministry, including 20+ years serving in Utica.

At home, the Rev. Brickous pursued various artistic interests. She drew in pastels, ink and watercolors. Her writing style was so admired, because of its similarity to calligraphy. Some of her artwork was featured on church bulletins and various anniversary programs.

She began selling greeting cards and other artwork as a licensed artist. Years later she enjoyed making ceramic lamps, hand painted with surnames of several generations of family, that ultimately we call our heritage lamps.

She had a lifetime of singing a cappella at home, with generations of family, in community choirs and as a soprano soloist in church. Her favorite Oratorio was "Handel's Messiah." She also loved many hymns including "Blessed Assurance," "I Come to the Garden Alone," and a modern favorite, "I Stood on the Banks of Jordan."

As a young woman she loved to dance with her sisters and friends at the Savoy Ballroom, in Harlem, where big band music was played. A favorite story was that she and her sisters would have to catch the last evening train back to Oyster Bay, that left well before midnight, or else wait until the next morning. They never missed it, because their mother would have been waiting furiously at the door.

Her descendants would be remiss if we did not mention the rich family history that had immeasurable impact on her life's journey and ours. Inspired by stories her aunts and uncles had shared about her ancestors, she wrote down names, places and dates in her Bibles. She chose to return to visit their Virginia roots and to have her DNA tested in 2008. She, her daughter, and a cousin had her mother's and later her father's genealogies researched. Cadores was the last of her siblings and the keeper of much family history, photos and memorabilia, some of which has been donated to the Oyster Bay Historical Association, Angela Koenig Research and Collections Center. Mrs. Miner Hill, first presidents and Mrs. Angel Koenig were both contemporaries of Reverend Brickous' mother, Mary Marshall, serving on some local committees together. Denise Evans-Sheppard, Executive Director.

Our family thanks the entire A.O. Fox Nursing Home in Oneonta and Bassett Healthcare Network for the loving care she received while residing there for three years. We know she ministered to you even as you ministered to her needs.

Cadores was predeceased by her sisters, Viola Marshall Wade Campbell, Selestine Marshall and Florella Marshall Johnson; brothers, George Marshall Jr., Chester Marshall Jr., Lt. Col. Tankard Marshall Ret.; and beloved niece, Nona Faith Marshall Sample, all originally from Oyster Bay; great-niece, Cheryl Vallie Sample; and beloved sons, Muhsin Mahdi and SFC Chester Marshall Jackson Ret.

She leaves behind her daughter, Monet Rothenberg (Robert) of Oneonta; daughter-in-law, Johnni Mahdi, formerly of Utica; five grandchildren, Haabiba Rothenberg-Whitney (Dwayne), Springfield, Massachusetts; Diallo Mahdi (Orlanda), formerly of Utica; Khalilah Mahdi, formerly of Utica; Khary Menelik, formerly of Oneonta; Saddiyah Mahdi, formerly of Utica; step-granddaughter, Lisa Rothenberg Williams (Kevin), Alpharetta, Georgia; 11 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins from the several branches of the Tankard, Brickhouse and Marshall family; Stephen and Barbera Rothenberg and family of Sidney and dear family friends, Robert and Thelma Apicella of Oneonta.

A private graveside service will be held for the family in the Memorial Cemetery of Saint John's Church, Laurel Hollow, Syosset, in the Marshall family plot.

While she chose not to have a funeral, the family asks that you simply honor her life by generously serving your community and sharing your gifts and talents. Thank you for your many condolences.