Mark DeFrancesco, founder and president of 4M Fruit Distributors in Chelsea, MA, who died February 17, 2023, grew up in a family business learning a very valuable lesson: Never say no!

“As the person sharing a bed with him, I can tell you he answered the phone 24/7,” said Maria DeFrancesco, his wife of 51 years.

“My father always used to say, if they call you and you don’t answer, they might not call you the next time,” said son Michael.

Son Matthew also chimed in on the subject at hand: “No matter what the customer wanted, my dad never said no. He always tried to get what they wanted no matter how hard it was.”

The trio of DeFrancescos, who are now running the 4M Fruit Distributors company that Mark founded with his wife in 1996, recently sat down with The Produce News to discuss their husband and father’s life journey and legacy. Their accolades were genuine and heartfelt.

“He was a great man,” said Maria.

“He had a big heart and was very generous,” noted Matthew.

“He was a great mentor,” added Michael. “He gave us an education you couldn’t buy at Harvard.”

DeFrancesco grew up in Salem, MA, in the shadow of the wholesale produce operation founded by his grandfather — John DeFrancesco & Sons. By the time he began working in the family business in the 1960s, the sons, including his father and uncles, were running the family of companies that were part of the operation.

“One of the businesses they had was a stall at an open-air market in Salem,” said Maria. “He told me he was 12 when he started working there.”

At that stand they sold fruits and vegetables to local consumers as well as potted plants, flowers and Christmas trees during the major holidays such as Easter, Mother’s Day and Christmas. Fortuitously, it was also where Mark met Maria. “I was one of those customers that came into the open-air market,” she quipped.

DeFrancesco was born in Salem, MA, on March 25, 1951, graduating from Salem High School in 1969. Through high school, he worked at the family’s retail operation in the summers and weekends, and once he graduated from high school, he joined the wholesale operation full time.

“He started as a truck driver making deliveries and picking up produce at the Boston Produce Market,” Maria recalled. “He would also go out to Long Island and pick up potatoes. On the weekends, he often worked at one of their retail markets.”

She noted John DeFrancesco & Sons had three retail markets under three different names in three area towns. He also would drive for a local trucking company, Scully Transportation, when he had the time. “Anything to make a buck,” Maria said.

This is also when he started developing his overarching philosophy of never saying no. He did whatever job was needed in the DeFrancesco family of companies and also took whatever side job he could to help raise his family.

This took DeFrancesco through the 1970s and deep into the 1980s.

In the early 1990s, DeFrancesco and his brother, Brian, launched JDS Refrigerated Transportation (JDS standing for John DeFrancesco & Sons), hauling produce throughout the Northeast. After a few years, DeFrancesco sold his interest to his brother and took some time off.

He eventually got bored and wanted to get back into the produce action. In 1996, Mark and Maria established 4M Fruit Distributors as a wholesale produce business in the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, MA, specializing in grapes.

Matthew came into the business at the outset after graduating from high school, while Michael did some other work before coming aboard in the early 2000s.

“Grapes were his thing,” said Michael. “He got them from California, Chile, Mexico and Peru. He had a lot of different guys that he worked with in all the areas. He bought huge quantities… much more than anyone else.”

Michael recalled that he started working for 4M as a bird dog in Nogales, AZ, checking out the grapes as they hit the border. He shared an apartment with several other bird dogs working for other U.S. distributors. In those days, he remembered that there were many more green grapes available than red varieties. “At the end of the day, I would be talking with the other guys and we would all be talking about what we bought that day. One guy said 10 pallets of greens and 1 pallet of reds; another guy said 10 and 2 and the third guy said 20 and 3. I told them 6 and 5, not pallets but loads… six loads of greens and five loads of reds. My dad bought lots of grapes.”

Matthew added that those grapes were always top quality. “My father always said that it’s all about investing in quality. He only wanted the best fruit.”

Jamie DiVola, who joined 4M in 1997, one year after it opened, told The Produce News that the company continued to expand its domestic and imported fruit offerings over the years. In 2000, DeFrancesco partnered with Louis (Simmy) Simonelli to expand the product line to include stone fruit and citrus. Today, 4M carries an extensive line of products including grapes, stone fruit, citrus, berries, melons, apples, and many specialty fruit products, “but grapes are still number one,” Michael said.

As the years went on, the sons took on more responsibility but Matthew said his father loved the action and “had his hand in every aspect of the company.”

In his free time, DeFrancesco enjoyed traveling with his wife, was an avid concert goer and could also be found enjoying a game of Blackjack in Atlantic City and nearby casinos, according to Maria. The family trio noted that playing Blackjack was  DeFrancesco’s “de-stressor” activity. They also noted that he had season tickets to all the pro sports in the Boston area and loved giving those tickets away to customers, employees and friends. “It brought him pleasure to give the tickets to others so they could enjoy the games,” Matthew said. “He loved that.”

Maria added that DeFrancesco was a great boss and cared deeply for their employees. “Every employee at 4M is considered an extension of our family,” she said. “My sons Mike, Matt and myself are truly blessed to have such a long standing dedicated and hard working staff. The days when Mark came into the office, he made sure that he said good morning and goodbye to everyone, and also thanked them for their hard work for the day. He truly valued the people he surrounded himself with.”

In his absence, Maria, Mike and Matt have had to step up to the plate and take on more responsibility, but Maria said they have been helped immensely by the many loyal employees. “We would like to recognize Peter Resteghini and Jamie Divola for their long-term dedicated service to 4M Fruit. They are loyal, dedicated and well respected by me and my family and the people that make up 4M,” she said. “Since Mark’s passing, they have added to their already full and stressful work day, a sense of leadership for the continuation of a company built on integrity, fair trading practices and family values.”

She added that Ralph Melito also deserves special mention. “Ralphy started with Mark as the person setting up the fruit samples every day in order to maximize sales. He is a valuable asset to 4M,” Maria said. “He was also one of the concert goers with Mark traveling all over to follow certain bands. They had a very special and unique friendship. He had such respect for Mark that he always called him PAPA!! Oh yes, he calls me MAMA!”

In her list of important 4M colleagues, Maria also noted that Jimmy Evans has long been an integral part of the DeFrancesco operation, working for several different firms under the JDS umbrella. “When Mark opened 4M, Jimmy was about to hang up his driving boots and Mark offered him a job at 4M, and Jimmy is still a valued member of the 4M Family.”

During DeFrancesco long career, he crossed paths with many industry folks, and to a person, they remember him fondly.

“Mark was not only a member and a loyal sponsor of the New England Produce Council, but he was a dear friend,” said NEPC Executive Director Laura Sullivan. “He was hard working, intelligent but most of all kind-hearted and I will deeply miss our phone calls and his great advice.”

Kevin Barry, who retired from the Big Y Foods supermarket chain last fall, first met DeFrancesco in the late 1980s. “I was a buyer at Star Markets at the time,” he said. “We did a lot of business together but we were also friends. Mark was a shrewd businessman but he was also very fair.”

Barry noted that “Mark was kind and loyal to his friends to the extreme. Two years ago, I got cancer and Mark was the first one to come by the house and see me — and he didn’t live that close. He was a great guy and will be missed.”