Ashley brought Mark by my office when he first arrived to help run CCM. I immediately felt like I knew him for years. He was such a great guy to be around and boy could we really cut up. We appreciated each others jaded humor and loved helping men together. He came here, jumped right in and began attacking the enemy that had a hold on the guys at CCM. I am still in a state of denial that he has left us. He was such a great anchor at CCM and he will be missed more than words can describe. Love you man

Seeing posts that talk about Mark’s sense of humor take me back to a summer evening while we were visiting my parents in North Myrtle Beach.  Mark was still living with them and had come home from work.  Mark, my wife and I were were sitting on the upper deck watching a meteor shower and listening to the radio where the DJ was reminding listeners not to miss the meteor “show”.  Mark casually got up and went inside returning in a few minutes.  After Mark sat back down, the radio DJ came back on and says he just got a call from a crazy listener trying to win tickets to the “show”.  Needless to say we knew who that caller was and laugh about it anytime they talk about an upcoming meteor shower.  

I’m going to miss his humor.

From my childhood, I have so many memories visiting you in Myrtle Beach for summer vacations or at Christmas time. We loved visiting you at work, especially when you worked at the General Store at Barefoot Landing. Then to fast forward to a recent Christmas when you were able to visit us and celebrate with our kiddos!  They loved when you ate Christmas dinner with them at the “kids table” :)

Family is so important to you and we are so thankful for the times we could share together. My kiddos absolutely adored you and you were such a special person in their lives. They especially loved making you artwork and cards.  

Your strong faith is such a great example for all of us. You will be forever missed! 

I was lucky enough to meet Uncle Mark in 2017- and lucky enough to have had him as an inspiration since. While he was my “uncle in law”, he holds a special place in my heart. 

His resilience, kindness, spirituality, and humility served as constant reminders for how truly wholesome a person can be. He never shied away from his shortcomings and attributed all of his successes to God. 

He was the embodiment of what redemption can look like. He woke up every day, put in the hard work, and dedicated his life to helping others to reach that same redemption. His dedication to helping others battle addiction will constantly stay with me. It fuels my own work with those battling addiction and reentry, and he will always serve as an example of how wonderful the success of sobriety can be. 

I will forever miss our phone conversations, trading stories and laughing. (Uncle Mark had an amazing laugh!) We always said we should write a book together- I would have loved that! 

Uncle Mark was taken from us too soon and we are heartbroken. Greg and I had so much more to share with him, and learn from him. But we will always hold near and dear to our hearts the last three years of memories that we were lucky enough to build with him. 

Greg, Savva, and I love you so much, Uncle Mark. 

What a special man!   I will always remember Amanda’s Uncle Mark as a selfless servant of God who committed his life to serving others. I remember chatting about purpose and faith over coffee during the Holidays, and I was struck by how strong his faith was and how Mark truly relied upon and turned to God daily.  Following our conversation, Mark sent Amanda and I a daily devotional book, which we read and reflect upon each day.   While you are gone far too soon and we feel a tremendous void without you, I will remember you every day as I pray the daily devotional.  Thank you for your example of serving the Lord and bringing happiness and joy to our children.  I will miss talking to you about football. May God bless your soul and Rest In Peace.  

Uncle Mark’s understanding and implementation of the 12 Steps was something I always admired.  I was one of the fortunate ones that didn’t suffer from addiction, but in my own journey to grow spiritually, I saw the 12 steps as a tool I could use to deepen my faith.

On more than one occasion, I would talk to Uncle Mark about his daily practices and he was always so open and insightful.  I remember on one call, I told him how I felt it was a disservice to only think of the 12 steps as a tool for alcoholics because of what could be gained by anyone willing to go through the process.  He was quick to point out that only one of the steps had to do with alcohol, and everything else was really a path for spiritual healing.

I never told Uncle Mark that in my eyes he was my “sponsor” in a sense as I walked through this process.  He was always quick to advise daily practices like starting and ending each day with devotional reading and prayer.  He also offered many books that helped me grow as a person and a servant of God.  I’ve added the screenshot of one of the more recent ones with this post.

I love you so much, Uncle Mark, and I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for me over the years. I pray for the strength to serve & mentor others in the same way that you did.

When I think of Beck’s Uncle Mark the first thing that comes to mind is spending Christmas with him a few years ago. Although we hadn’t seen him for a few years we were all able to reconnect, eat, laugh, and have a great holiday. I also won’t forget waking up Christmas morning and sitting on the couch with him to laugh and watch A Christmas Story.

Mark was a great guy who greatly valued his family and work. He will be missed but his memories will forever be in our hearts. 

When I think of my Uncle Mark, the first thing that pops in my head is all the summers and Christmases we spent in Myrtle Beach when I was younger. I remember him always popping in and out of Grandma and Grandpa’s house and how he used to always joke and laugh. I remember how we used to think it was so cool to play the computer in his room - DOS hangman lol :)

I remember how at Christmas a couple years ago, he drank so much of our coffee that after he went home, he said he felt guilty and sent us an enormous box of K-cups. Our shared love for coffee became our inside joke and he always sent us some at Christmas time!

And lastly, I am so grateful that he had the opportunity to meet his great-nephew, Carson. Carson loved meeting him and playing cars/trucks with him. Here is a video of Carson with the monster trucks he sent him for his birthday this past year. 

He will be greatly missed!
Becky (Shak) Romero