|
| |
Mark W. McDonald October 15, 1951 to January 25, 2012 Memorial Service: January 28, 2012 Officiating: Rev. Charley Odell Pastor Alan Sanders Rev. J.C. Walker
A LIFE WELL-LIVED Ornery boy, running and laughing A mind full of boyish ideas Teen years marred by rebellion Adulthood filled with quiet commitment Loving man spilling over with compassion Dedicated husband and Poppy Determined follower of Jesus Christ Proud victor for the Cross. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness"" II Timothy 4:7-8
Mark W. McDonald was born in Washington, DC on October 15, 1951. He finished his course on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. His parents, Dick and Dema McDonald preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife Claudia, children Kristi and Christopher Randall, and grandchildren Tabi, Blake, Grant and McKenna Randall. His sister and brother law, Mallory and Clay Hirner and brother Drew also survive him, as well as niece Abby Dogrouz and her family, and nephew Dan Hirner. Also surviving him in Claudia"s family are brothers Richard Nunley, Larry and Peg Nunley, and Charley and Jan Odell, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was a conscientious worker and had a crew that helped him build a thriving tree service business in Kansas City. He had so much business from his previous customers that he had to quit advertising because he simply could not keep up with the new work.
After a rough start into adulthood, Mark determined to live the kind of life that would be respected by others. He entered Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Missouri in 1987 and became a man of phenomenal discipline and commitment to the Lord and the work he believed God has given him to do.
Mark and Claudia married March 14, 1997 in Kansas City and immediately joined a missions project in south Texas the next day..an interesting honeymoon. They spent 3 years working on building, repairing and renovating Teen Challenge centers, churches, and Mark"s special love, Native American projects on the reservations in Arizona. He particularly fell in love with the Apache people at Cedar Creek Arizona. When it came time to move on, he always felt he had left a piece of his heart with those wonderful people.
Mark and Claudia traveled in their RV for those 3 years and loved every moment of it. He had a passion for kids who needed Bibles and raised money to pay for over a thousand Bibles to be distributed to children over the last 17 years. If he could not find donations, he would go out and work a special job to pay for them himself. He found such great joy in that. He loved his family. He told Claudia often that he used to think that he would die an old man in an old house with "miles and miles of piles and piles". But when he married her, he got a ready-made family complete with grandchildren, which were added to after he came into the family. They were his great joy. Mark said that "even on his worst day", unable to eat or be out of bed for long, all he had to do was see his grandchildren or have them call, and he perked up and got a great emotional boost. He always considered Kristi to be his daughter, enjoying seeing her accomplishments and appreciating her determination to be a great mom. Christopher was his "buddy" . He told Claudia that had he been able to have a son, Chris would have been the model for the perfect son. He was proud of each of them"Tabi " the loving and beautiful oldest of the 4. A determined young woman who spreads sunshine as soon as she walks into a room. Blake " a committed young man who is brave enough to state his ideals and dreams and give his all to achieve his goals. Grant " a boy of 10 who loves any type of sport with the word "ball" in its name and excels at them, never letting a season go by that he isn"t playing. And his little "midget" as he called her, McKenna Grace. She flits around ready to be your best friend at the drop of a hat. She made him so proud. Mark wanted these things told of his grandchildren because he felt they were such an important factor in his joy in life. He went to the Lord knowing these children knew the Lord and that this is not goodbye, only "see you later".
Mark had a special love for his church. Not feeling obligated to attend, but always delighted to be able to go. He loved all of those who shared that worship time with him on Sundays and always came home smiling. A sincere thanks to all of you in his church family who blessed him through the hard times and encouraged him with your notes, hugs and prayers. Dialysis team always marveled and remarked that Mark was their only patient who never complained or was down. Instead he asked each nurse when they were responsible for his care "Tell me something new and exciting God is doing in your life". Some of the workers would let Claudia know during the past 15 months of dialysis 3-4 times a week, how he had impacted their lives. God had a plan!
FOR PAPER: Mark W. McDonald. Died Wednesday 1/25/2012. Memorial service to be held at Barnes-Friedrich FH"
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.