Tribute to Marcus Colbert, who died serving city

By ALAYSIA EZZARD

In January 2017, Marcus Colbert died in a tragic accident while serving as a sanitation worker with the Laurel Department of Public Works. Colbert, who was loading trash into the back of his garbage truck, was struck by an SUV and died at the scene. He was 30.

His sister, Cynthia Colbert, the only girl of six siblings, was very close to Marcus. In October of this year, she published her book, My Brother Marcus. The book is her account of her life before and after her brother’s death. It is a journey through love and grief and explores how she moved on after the loss. 

“I began writing the moment that I found out he passed away,” Colbert, 35, said in an interview. “Initially, when I wrote the book, it was more so emotional. It was more so me saying how hurt I am.”

As Cynthia Colbert matured, she realized she didn’t want the book to be only about her pain. She wanted to pay homage to her brother because he was much more than simply someone who died.

“The time is right,” Cynthia Colbert said. “I just wanted to make sure that I put my all into it, because my brother has been a significant impact in my life, so I wanted to make sure it was something that he would be proud of,if he was able to read it, and also something that my family would be proud of” – and that  she would be proud of.

Cynthia Colbert found her love of writing while attending Laurel Elementary School. Back then, she primarily journaled or wrote poetry whenever she was feeling upset. Before publishing My Brother Marcus, she published her poetry, which is her favorite genre. The book about her brother is her first published work that tells a story.

In the book, Cynthia Colbert  recounts  the moment when she and her family were allowed to see Marcus’ body. Her mom sang to Marcus and kissed him.

“The song that I did sing to him on the day that we did go see him was ‘Soon and Very Soon,’” Shirley Colbert, Cynthia’s mom, said. “Even when we went to view his body, I felt although he wasn’t with us in the flesh, he was with us in the spirit … I went to kiss him to let him know that I loved him.”

Cynthia Colbert  herself was in shock when she viewed her brother’s body. She did not touch him because she didn’t want to potentially destroy forensic evidence. Instead, she stood there hoping that Marcus would wake up.

“I had never known him to not be okay. But that day he wasn’t. He wasn’t okay. As we left the hospital, it hit me that our brother was truly gone. It was a pill too big to swallow,” she wrote in the book.

The city has honored Marcus Colbert in a number of ways. An outstanding citizenship award was named after him, and in October 2023, an athletic field on Overlook Way was renamed as the Marcus Colbert Community Field.

In the book, Colbert writes she would have preferred that charges be brought against the woman who crashed into him, and “apply accountability where it is due.”

Despite that, she is still very grateful for the honor that her brother received.

“I know Marcus would have been overjoyed to have something named after him,” she wrote in the book. “It’s a special honor, no matter who you are. I hope that people who visit the area will bring happiness, peace, humor, thoughtfulness and positivity — everything that my brother represented.”

Colbert described her brother Marcus as an enjoyer of anime, sports and gaming. He also cared for others, especially

his family.

“Marcus always made lemonade from lemons — and he’d give that lemonade to us, his brothers and sister, before he’d even think of himself,” she wrote in the book. “That’s the kind of person Marcus was, and still is in spirit. He left behind a legacy that inspires me and everyone who knew him to be better, to improve ourselves in any way we can.”

Marcus Colbert’s faith in God also defined him.

My Brother Marcus is Cynthia Colbert’s  first book exploring loss. She hopes it will be the last she writes, though the impact of his death will last.

Shirley Colbert said the “hurt is still there,” though the tragedy happened seven years ago. She is thankful that her son’s story has found its way into publication.

“Thank you for reaching out to me and my daughter,” said Shirley Colbert in an interview. “I’m just thankful that somebody is still listening. That speaks volumes in itself.”