Mark worked for Phoenix Fire for 18 years. He roved the city stations his last five years until he found the station he truly loved to work at: Station 37. Mark loved his job and his coworkers‚ and they all loved him so much. He suffered a heart attack and passed away on the job on June 4‚ 2007. He had gone on quite a few calls that day‚ and his crew did everything they could to try to save him. He was only 53.

Mark was a wonderful man. He was the best husband a woman could have. All of my friends thought I was sooooo lucky‚ and I was. He loved all four of our daughters so much. He has three granddaughters. The second one‚ Maddie Carter O’Shields‚ was born just a month after he passed‚ so he never got to meet her. We will always remember Mark as a devoted husband‚ loving father‚ proud grandfather‚ and true hero.

Mark could light up the whole room with his smile‚ had a great sense of humor‚ always had a joke or story to tell. He was a huge animal lover‚ and I now have a bunch of animals here in Nevada with me because of him. He loved to golf‚ the mountains‚ and football. Holidays used to be very big at our house. We liked to invite firefighters who couldn’t be with their families.

We all have so many wonderful memories of Mark that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. He was one of a kind. He is missed by so many.