Mark Joseph Brisson Jr.
NEED TO KNOW
Mark Joseph Brisson Jr. is a father of one living in Sunset Beach, N.C.
In September 2025, two years after being diagnosed with colon cancer, his wife died
To help himself and his son navigate grief, the 37-year-old wrote a song that captured the depth of their emotions and honored their "prettiest angel"
In March 2023, Taylor Watts was diagnosed with colon cancer following a sharp decline in her health.
"About a year before the official diagnosis, she started doing things that were considered out of character," her husband, Mark Joseph Brisson Jr., tells PEOPLE exclusively. "The cancer was having an effect on her brain chemistry, but we had no idea at the time."
His wife, fiercely independent and at times admittedly "stubborn," rarely shared her feelings out loud, making it difficult for anyone, including him, to truly know how she was doing mentally or physically.
Mark Joseph Brisson Jr.
"It was rare for Taylor to open up, and while some might consider that a personality flaw, to those closest to her it was an accepted and endearing quality," he says.
It was around the same time that the two faced a period of strain in their relationship and decided to take time apart.
However, as Watts' condition worsened, she kept the true severity to herself until even the simple act of getting out of bed became a struggle.
Then, one day, during their time apart, she reached out to her husband for help getting to the ER.
"I immediately drove to her apartment and had to physically carry her from her bed to the car," Brisson recalls. "This was when I realized things must be much worse than any of us could imagine. She was ghost white, extremely weak and increasingly frail."
Brisson admits, however, that he never imagined the diagnosis looming. Weeks later, a biopsy confirmed that a mass found in her colon was, in fact, cancer.
Mark Joseph Brisson Jr.
"Supporting Taylor during her battle in the years to follow was difficult," Brisson admits. "That stubborn spirit was magnified in her. The best way to support her was to let her do what Taylor wanted to do. She was the captain of her own ship, and we were along for the ride."
Determined to face her illness on her own terms, Watts refused special treatment or outside assistance. Her mom was the only person she fully allowed into her world, eventually moving in with her mother, who lived closer to the treatment center.
"Our son also lived there so they could have as much time together as possible before she passed," Brisson tells PEOPLE.
"Taylor relied and trusted in her mother to help her carry the weight of her illness, and rightly so. She is a force of a woman," Brisson shares. "As much as I wanted to be the hero in my wife's story, I could not be. I had to learn to love her from afar."
Brisson notes that their relationship "was complicated," and while they remained married, they "didn't have a typical marriage."
"Our marriage turned into more of a companionship with no loss of love, and it worked for us," he shares. "We knew she wasn't going to survive this from the start, so a lot of decisions were made that I don't expect anyone to understand. An unfortunate position we were put in because of a horrible disease."
Unfortunately, less than two and a half years later, in September 2025, Watts died at the age of 32, leaving her husband and their young son, Forrest, with gaping holes in their hearts.
"Forrest was there in the hospice room along with myself during her final hours," Brisson recalls. "The decision to let him see his mother in that way was a decision not made lightly."
Mark Joseph Brisson Jr.
And although saying goodbye provided a measure of closure for his son, the 7-year-old has understandably struggled to cope with the unimaginable loss.
"He sleeps with her pillow, the same pillow he shared with her in the hospice bed. He has a box that he continues to fill with things that were hers," Brisson shares.
"He's dealing with death right now in his own way. I feel the best thing I can do for him is to allow him a safe place to express his grief, however he needs to."
In an attempt to process his grief and help his son do the same, Brisson embraced a creative outlet that had always been close to his heart: songwriting.
"What better way, I thought, to honor her than write this song for her, our son, and for myself and ultimately anyone going through loss," he says.
The song, titled 'The Prettiest Little Angel,' drew inspiration from the questions his son asked while navigating grief, such as whether his mom listens to his prayers, if she now has a "perfect set of wings," or if she hears him when he sings.
The deeply emotional song, which the father-son duoposted on TikTok, has become a heartfelt reflection of their strong bond and ongoing healing journey.
"It was extremely difficult to get through it without crying at first," Brisson says. "Now we sing it to each other randomly at times throughout the day, and we sing it happily thinking about Taylor."
Mark Joseph Brisson Jr.
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While writing the song allowed the duo to give voice to the pain they were experiencing together, Brisson never anticipated the impact it would have on thousands of strangers online.
"Sharing the song has made me realize that we are far from alone. The majority of us have experienced loss in some way. Death knows no age, and it's something none of us can avoid," he tells PEOPLE.
"The question is, what's next? How the song has helped me with the 'what's next' is a whole song of its own."
Read the original article onPeople
