Shawn Marqus Dromgoole, II

Shawn Marqus Dromgoole II passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at Centennial Medical Center in his hometown of Nashville, TN. Born on July 23, 1990 at Baptist Hospital, he was the oldest child of Shawn Marcus Dromgoole Sr. and Lynetra Lynne Savage.

Though he was christened as a baby at his grandmother’s church, St. Luke’s Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) in North Nashville, and accepted Christ at an early age, he waited until April 2nd, 2005 to get baptized (because he was afraid of the water). Marqus enjoyed any combination of history and pomp and circumstance. In fact, in the days leading up to his baptismal rebirth, he followed the rituals and practices surrounding Pope John Paul II’s transition. Ironically, while he was under the water, Pope John Paul II died, which would become a running joke for years to come. Following his baptism, Marqus underwent yet another transformation—he would go by his first name, Shawn. His family and childhood friends continued calling him Marqus, while his classmates referred to him as Shawn or Shawn-Marqus. Within the last few months, he had decided to return to Marqus.

He was educated in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) from K-12. He graduated from Nashville School of the Arts in 2008 with an emphasis in theatre, then completed cosmetology school at the Beauty Institute a year later. His baby sister, Ambre, was his first client. He started styling her hair when she was in high school. Theirs was a soul collaboration. She dreamt of hairstyles and Shawn executed them. For him, this was a method of provision given their single-parent, single income household. In 2008, Marqus began working in the shoe department at Macy’s Cool Springs. He continued with Macy’s at the Green Hills Mall and later worked in Nordstrom’s stockroom and customer service department. He also worked as a Sales Associate for Love Sac and as a stylist for Hive & Colony.

Marqus served his church home, Born Again Church and Christian Outreach Ministries, with passion and purpose. His journey began as a youth usher in Children’s Church, albeit under duress. He loved music and the arts and looked forward to the day that he would get to play his role, both literally and figuratively. As determined, and loud, as he was, he wouldn’t yearn long for his moment in the spotlight. Throughout his teenage years he enthusiastically participated in Living Parables drama ministry productions, both on-stage and off, and was one of the founding members of the Legacy worship team.

Marqus had a heart for children and youth. He felt it important to nurture their sense of self-expression as well as their spiritual growth. Dedicating time to his Shift family and the Bread of Life bible study nourished this calling. He ran errands for everyone from Ms. Lolita Murrell in the bookstore to Ms. Gloria Vereen in the kitchen, but he also ran when he caught the Spirit. When his hands started flapping and his feet started jumping, those in close proximity knew to clear the row or risk being bowled over. His commitment to service extended beyond the church walls. He earned the sobriquet ‘hospital hall-walker’ because he frequently accompanied his grandmother on hospital visits, where he would travel the halls in prayer and sit with ailing friends and family members.

In the tenth grade, Marqus joined the MET Singers, a program of Choral Arts Link, under the direction of Mrs. Margaret Campbelle-Holman. He was loved by peers, choral directors, and parent volunteers alike for his devotion and dependability. MET Singers helped him develop his voice in various ways. A baritone singing voice emerged as patient instructors taught him blend and tempo, but the group also reinforced leadership skills and encouraged his appreciation for a wide variety of music. Marqus developed a robust record collection featuring everyone from the soul-stirring Mahalia Jackson and Ron Kenoly to musicals like The Wiz. He continued to volunteer with Choral Arts Link well into adulthood.

To know Marqus was to encounter the definition of style. In grade school, he made beaded jewelry for his sister’s business, Ambre’s Accessories. His love of beauty did not stop there. He wore custom hats and suits that he had tailored by shops from Atlanta to West Africa. He frequented luxury resellers, where his skillful eye aided in identifying authentic goods. But it wasn’t only about the brand for Marqus. He loved thrifting pieces to recreate couture looks.

Marqus weaved himself into the fabric of several vibrant communities from childhood. However, following the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, Marqus’s social media post about being afraid to walk alone in his South Nashville neighborhood a neighborhood that his family has lived in for sixty years—sparked a movement. We Walk With Shawn has since touched thousands of lives across the world. Communities have been inspired to play an active role in fighting social inequity in their own neighborhoods. But Marqus had a broader vision for this work. He created More Than A Walk, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that viewed walks as a springboard to political, educational, artistic, and spiritual transformation. Collaborations with the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance and the Nashville Human Rights Commission (HRC) helped him realize this commitment.

Marqus reflected the absolute best of his friends, family, and surroundings. Being around him meant full bellies, side cramps from laughter, a spontaneous song or dance and recovery naps on the living room couch or daybed. He was a bridge that connected generations and communities. His life was a testimony from the beginning. Marqus was born with pneumonia and was the eighth baby in the state to receive ECMO, an experimental lung bypass procedure, at Vanderbilt Medical Center. At the time, the medical team told his mother that he “wasn’t going to die, yet.” He lived 35 years on a “yet praise.”

Shawn Marqus Dromgoole II is survived by his mother, Lynetra Dunn; grandmother, Carolyn Washington; sister, Ambre Dromgoole; brother, Andrew Castleberry; stepfather, Randall Dunn; father, Shawn Dromgoole Sr; aunt, Lily Lester (George), uncles, Andrew “Brother” Frierson, Michael (Stefania), and Frank Gooch; cousin, Jamica Quarles (Marc), his Dunn-Pope Family, his Mullins family, his family Ariel Jones, Howard Dodd, Taylor Reid, extended family and friends. . .

and a village of hats, shoes, and suits.