Mark was born on December 26‚ 1967‚ in Middle River‚ Maryland. Shortly after graduating from Mount Carmel High School‚ Mark joined the Middle River Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Company‚ where he served as chief and had become a life member. His inspiration for firefighting came from watching the television show ñEmergencyî as a child‚ and Mark fulfilled one of many dreams when he became a career emergency medical technician with the Baltimore County Fire Department in 1990.
Mark married Gladys on November 6‚ 1993. They became the parents of two wonderful sons‚ Christian in1996 and Garrett in 2005. Shortly after his marriage‚ Mark was promoted to paramedic.
In 1999‚ Mark became a member of the Baltimore County Fire Department Honor Guard. After the tragic events of 9/11‚ Mark traveled to New York with the honor guard to pay his respects to many of those fallen heroes. Mark was very proud to be a member of the honor guard. He participated in many memorials and other honor guard functions even after retiring from the fire department.
He served at several stations in the eastern portion of the county before retiring in 2006 to accept a position as an emergency services instructor with the United States Secret Service. This was a difficult decision for Mark to make‚ but he realized that his talents as an instructor and mentor could be put to better use training others to safely perform their duties. Mark carried his love of the fire service to the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company in 2009. He was serving with this fire company when he answered his final alarm on January 19‚ 2011.
Mark was the consummate professional. He was dedicated to everything that he did‚ most importantly to his wife and sons. Family was Mark’s first passion‚ and he enjoyed spending time watching his sons play soccer and lacrosse.
Mark was totally committed to serving his brothers and sisters in the emergency services and was liked by everyone he met. His broad smile and determined nature made him a great asset to the profession. He will always remain a hero to all he came into contact with‚ and his sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Mark’s favorite quote describes him best. ñThe man who is determined to make his world better‚ who is willing to learn and to lead‚ The man who keeps trying and doing his best is the man who knows how to succeed.î
The key word here is consummant. Mark was my mentor although I was 10 years older. I rode many calls with him. He never ever spoke negative about anyone. The most supportive positive person I have ever met. He had an aura about him that I knew was special. Mark was a very special man, one in a million, God bless brother.
– Steve Layman