Mark Wayne Morrison was born February 4‚ 1959‚ in Du Bois‚ Pennsylvania. He was the only child of Joan and Wayne Morrison. He grew up as part of a large‚ extended family in Brockport and Clearfield‚ Pennsylvania. After graduation from high school‚ he attended classes at State College and worked for the railroad operating heavy equipment.

Family was important to Mark‚ so he relocated to Florida after a large number of family members moved south. After moving to Fort Pierce‚ Florida‚ Mark went to work in the construction field. A relative that he lived with was an employee of the Ft. Pierce Fire Department. After many long conversations between the two‚ Mark got the fire bug and knew what he wanted to become. He wished to work and help his community. He continued to work in construction as he completed the Fire Academy at Indian River Community College.

In 1987‚ after completion of the Fire Fighter and EMT Program‚ Mark was employed with the Fort Pierce Fire Department‚ now known as the Saint Lucie County Fire District. In 1996‚ he was promoted to driver/engineer and three years later became a lieutenant.

Mark’s work ethic was beyond reproach‚ only missing work time for death of a parent‚ injury to himself‚ or a family member. He consistently received yearly attendance awards. Mark always arrived very early at work before his shift to be able to get shift report and bond with his brothers and sisters. His commitment to the fire district‚ his firefighter family‚ and the community was always in his heart. He taught CPR in schools and continued to educate himself in the field‚ working on college classes and his degree.

The chief of the fire district described Mark like this: (He was) a company officer‚ the meat and potatoes of our organization…He just excelled. As a company officer‚ he was just a great leader‚ and he was the type of person when there was an emergency‚ he was all about getting it mitigated safely and effectively. Mark was a true professional and loved to serve the community. He was very well respected by his peers. He had this infectious smile about him. It was always good to see Lt. Morrison‚ because he walked in‚ and there was that wonderful grin.

This warm‚ gentle giant was large in both spirit and physique. He was a special person with a huge heart‚ always helping others. Mark was a wonderful husband‚ father and friend. He is survived by his wife‚ Susan; daughters‚ Patricia and Brittany; and numerous in-laws‚ aunts‚ uncles‚ cousins‚ and friends.