Mark was born November 1, 1961, in El Dorado Springs to Doyle and Darlene (Marshall) White. He was best known as the Virgil City/Montevallo “fix it” man.
He was a man of many talents and unique creations, including, but not limited to, an office chair Christmas tree stand, an item every home needs. He was an avid deer and turkey hunter, but only after he perused the grocery aisle for Little Debbie and diet Dew.
Mark worked for many years, starting in high school, for Bill Beaty, hauling various farming equipment and learning life lessons along the way. After his time there, Mark went to work for O’Sullivan’s, where he spent many years, before kicking his feet up at 3M. After his working career, he terrorized the pop aisles looking for his daughter, but not before he found his apple fritters.
He spent his afternoons gossiping in Beaty’s shop; then he would round out his week at his sister Kristi’s greenhouse. Mark believed that his word was his bond no matter if he was custom combining, haying, working cattle, or working his 7-7. If Mark said it, he would make it happen. If you needed a helping hand, he was there.
Mark was a great dad, but you didn’t ask him to teach you how to drive a stick or cook you stew. He never missed a ball game, school program, or chance to teach his daughter. Along with his siblings, Mark had a multitude of friends and cousins that he shared lifetime memories with, from stick horses, shooting blue rock, and concerts, to things that should never be repeated. Mark was loved by all, and he loved them all dearly. Family meant everything to Mark.
Mark’s life abruptly changed when he ran into Kris at the grocery store in the summer of 1998. After asking his sister Shelley for Kris’s number and coming up short, it was nothing for Mark to call Kris’s dad, Dennis, to ask for her number. Kris brought joy into Mark’s life, including her son Chase. After many dates, family dates, and a few years, they got married on November 8, 2002. Mark and Chase shared multiple memories together, and some of the same life qualities. The best life advice Mark ever taught Chase was “how to keep his mouth shut.”
The holiday season has always been important to Mark. He especially loved Christmas, which got a whole new meaning when his granddaughters entered into his world. He was a master at giving his granddaughters gummy butterflies just before supper. Hershey chocolates became their own food group. Whatever his grand babies needed, grandpa delivered.
Mark was preceded in death by his mother, Darlene White; sister, Shelley White-Briscoe; and infant brother, Steven Lane White.
He is survived by his wife, Kris White; daughter, Cass White and wife, Tara-Kanita; son, Chase Gardner and wife, Ally; granddaughters, Ollie and Lena; father, Doyle White and companion, Laurel Corlett; sisters, Kristi Toliver and husband/best friend, Darren, and Kasey Sindel and husband, Steve; sister-in-law, Sandy Fairbetter and husband, Craig; mother-in-law, Connie Maberry; father-in-law, Dennis Burton and wife, Mary Ellen; nieces: Thomara White-Briscoe, Abby Crow and husband, Alex, Mya White-Briscoe, Libby Toliver, and Darby Sindel; nephews, Morgan Toliver and wife, Brittany, and Adam Fairbetter; great-nephew, Conlin; great-nieces, Tinsley and Tatum; and beloved sidekick, Trixie.
There will never be another Mark White.
