Marva Prescod, the Vincentian-born mom of United States Fencing Corridor of Famer Nzingha Prescod, who was a registered nurse and lawyer in Brooklyn, succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at Memorial Sloane Kettering in Manhattan on Nov. 26. She was 73. A Celebration of Life for Marva Prescod will happen this Thursday, Nov. 30, at 6:00 p.m., at Prospect Park Picnic Home, 40 West Dr., Brooklyn.
East Flatbush, Brooklyn resident Nzingha Prescod – who competed in two Olympic Video games and earned 4 Senior World Championship medals, turning into the primary Black American lady to individually medal on the Senior World Championships – informed Caribbean Life completely on Saturday that her mom, additionally an East Flatbush resident, was recognized with persistent myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), a most cancers of the blood, in January.
“It shortly progressed within the coming months to AML,” stated Nzingha Prescod, whose Olympic wins have since landed her within the USA Fencing Corridor of Fame Class of 2024.
Nzingha Prescod – who, since retiring, has based the nonprofit, The Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Training, to develop entry to high quality fencing and academic alternatives for the Black youth group in New York – stated that she and her sister, Tekeya, are “devastated” by their mom’s “premature passing.”
“My mom is the neatest individual I do know,” Nzingha Prescod stated. “To this present day, I’ve by no means met somebody who impresses me extra with their kindness, dedication and wit.
“I’ll enormously miss her unconditional love and look after us,” she added. “It’s an immense loss, and I’ll miss her deeply each single day.”
Tekeya Prescod additionally informed Caribbean Life that her mom was her “greatest pal.”
“Her unconditional love and steerage have molded me, and proceed to be the blueprint of the way to present up in life,” she stated. “Every little thing good I’m is due to her. I’ll all the time have her voice in my head steering me, and can carry her gentle in my coronary heart on my darkest days.
“Phrases wouldn’t suffice to say that her presence is each felt and missed immensely,” Tekeya added. “I cherished my mom so dearly. Could she relaxation in everlasting peace!”
Each Nzingha and Tekeya stated their mom “had a lot extra life left to dwell.
“We have been a good knit trio, and she or he was our world,” they stated. “We couldn’t have requested for a greater mom. We’ll miss her greater than phrases can say.
“Her want for us was to maintain shut to one another, and we’re grateful to her for instilling a powerful bond between us,” the sisters added. “We’ll all the time carry her spirit with us. We hope to proceed to make her proud and honor her legacy.”
Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated their mom was born in Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent and Grenadines, on Sept. 2, 1950.
They stated Marva Prescod was the final youngster and solely daughter of Florence Etaul Prescod, the primary feminine police officer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Marva Prescod’s father, Norbert Vincent Andalcio, a local of Trinidad and Tobago, was the superintendent of Electrical energy, Phone and Water Fee for the Colonial Improvement Company (CDC) in Grenada, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, accountable for putting in electrical traces on the respective islands, Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated.
“The daughter of two proficient and distinguished people, Marva didn’t fall removed from the tree,” they stated, stating that their mom grew up dwelling in varied areas round Kingstown.
They stated she attended the Kingstown Anglican Major College as a younger lady, and was an energetic Brownie and later a “loyal” Woman Information, incomes many badges alongside the way in which.
“She was an avid reader and received many girlfriends within the Nancy Drew collection,” Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated. “How she cherished a thriller!”
As a baby, they stated their mom was “all the time obedient and well-behaved,” however, on the similar time, “playful and curious.”
Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod additionally stated their mom loved spending time along with her older brothers, “tagging alongside to play tennis and hearken to her brother’s band as they rehearsed.
“Each trip she and the household would spend time up at Lowman’s (simply exterior Kingstown) with cousins, the place they’d plait their aunts’ hair,” they stated. “She loved listening to previous tales essentially the most throughout her time along with her cousins and aunties.”
Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated Marva Prescod entered the St. Vincent Women’ Excessive College (GHS), an elite secondary college for women in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in September 1961.
After commencement, she labored on the native Barclay’s Financial institution, the sisters stated, earlier than, at 19, transferring to the UK to start her schooling in nursing.
Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated it was fairly frequent for ladies on the islands emigrate to pursue nursing, and that their mom launched into this journey along with her pal, Monica Huggins.
After three years of coaching, they stated Marva Prescod turned a State Registered Nurse in London. At the moment, they stated Marva Prescod spent “lots of time” along with her brother, Rudy, supporting him and his 4 sons of their early years.
Desirous to reunite with the remainder of her household and looking for different alternatives, Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated their mom migrated to Brooklyn within the mid-Nineteen Seventies, the place she continued her nursing schooling, graduating from Hunter School, Metropolis College of New York, as a Registered Nurse.
After working at Brookdale College Hospital and Kings County Hospital for a number of years, the sisters stated their mom “endeavored to broaden her expertise and profession”, deciding to accumulate one other skilled diploma in turning into a lawyer after graduating from New York College College of Regulation in 1985.
Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated Marva Prescod labored as a public protection lawyer for the Metropolis of New York and was “a fierce advocate” for her shoppers throughout her time in legal regulation, earlier than settling into household and juvenile regulation within the Nineteen Nineties.
“She was usually acknowledged by her authorized friends as a talented and formidable litigator,” they stated.
Within the early Eighties, Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod stated their mom was “one of many chief basis sisters” within the formation of the Women Excessive College (GHS) New York Alumnae Affiliation.
“Having just lately accomplished regulation college, she fashioned a committee to draft the bylaws and articles of incorporation,” they stated.
In August 1990, Marva Prescod gave beginning to her first daughter, Tekeya, having her second daughter, Nzingha, two years later, the sisters stated.
“Marva devoted her life to her daughters, to whom she gave the world,” they stated. “Greater than a mom, Marva had a imaginative and prescient for her daughters, actively participating them in varied extracurriculars and improvement alternatives.
“Each weekend was stuffed with sports activities and actions: karate, dance, refrain, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, softball, and shortly fencing,” they added.
Each daughters stated they excelled “creatively and athletically” of their respective fields, graduating from Brooklyn School and Columbia College within the 2010s.
Tekeya Prescod stated she pursued a profession in cosmetology and now runs her personal nail salon in Brooklyn.
By the help of her mom and Tekeya, Nzingha stated she turned “an historic fencer for Crew USA.”
Nzingha additionally stated her mom and sister had/has been energetic members and leaders of the Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Training, with Tekeya serving on the Board of Administrators.
Nzingha and Tekeya Prescod credited their mom for instilling “the work ethic, self-discipline and tenacity wanted to perform these feats.”
“Most notable for Marva was her caring and nurturing nature, and her will to do the best factor,” they stated. “She was a powerful believer in Black excellence and management, and actively supported political leaders mobilizing for the Black group.”
The sisters disclosed that, within the early 2000s, their mom had “the political backing to run for judgeship however declined the supply to concentrate on her truest dedication: her ladies.”
“Marva had a humorousness that would produce a humorous giggle or a full stomach chuckle, however she additionally had a critical facet that was structured and goal-oriented,” they stated, stating that Marva Prescod all the time inspired them to comply with their passions and was “an exceptionally dedicated mum or dad who actively supported” them to do their greatest.
In addition they stated their mom cared for aged members of the family with out grievance and was “all the time keen to assist.”
“Marva was really considered one of a form,” stated Nzingha and Tekeya Prescod, including that their mom was “a decided, trailblazing lady, whose gentle and swish, giving spirit won’t ever be forgotten.”
They stated that although Marva Prescod was “fairly a magnificence, she was by no means one to titivate, and all the time spent her time correctly, deliberately and with motion.”
Tekeya and Nzingha Prescod described their mom as “merely the very best.”
“We have been all blessed for her to grace us along with her time on Earth,” they stated.
