Mark Tutwiler Richards

Mark Tutwiler Richards, youngest child of Winton and Nancy Richards, left his earthly home to be with the Lord on April 12, 2007. Born on April 14, 1952, Mark was diagnosed with sarcoma cancer in May 2005 and succumbed to it with relief on last Thursday. He had accepted Christ as his Savior at age nine and, therefore, he had no fear of dying; in fact, he was looking forward to it during the last few months of his illness. After graduating Spring Woods High School in 1970, Mark joined the Marines. When his tour of duty was up, he found that he liked military life so much he decided to stay with it and enlisted in the Navy as a flag writer. It was then that he began traveling and was stationed in D.C. at the Pentagon; Norfolk; Dunoon, Scotland; London; and the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He was on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier for six months and toured the Pacific, docking in Australia and Singapore, among other exotic places. After 20 years, Mark retired in 1998 as a senior chief petty officer. While in the Navy, Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Regents College--University of New York in Albany, went on safari in Kenya, and perfected the dry martini. On returning to Houston, Mark worked for the ILRU Program of Memorial-Hermann/TIRR and was grateful for the support and affection continuingly displayed by his co-workers. Awaiting him in heaven are his father, his maternal grandparents John and Inez Tutwiler, uncle John Tutwiler, Jr., his paternal grandparents George and Corrie Richards, and two sets of great-grandparents, Sam and Minnie Tutwiler and Labron and Irene Ezell. He is survived by his mother Nancy T. Richards, his sisters Ellen and Laurel Richards, his brother Winton, Jr. and his wife Pam, all of Houston. Also, his nephew, Jonathan, his wife Tammy, and Mark's great-nephew Barrett of Houston, and his nephew Joel, his wife Erin, and Mark's great-niece Natalie of Fort Worth. Mark was grateful to his great-aunt Virginia Ezell of Houston, for being his good friend and ally for almost 55 years. His is also grateful to his aunt Mary Gilpin and cousin Elaine Timbes of Bastrop for their ceaseless and thoughtful efforts to make him comfortable, driving weekly to his home in Kingwood where they would bring food, cook meals, hang pictures, do laundry, purchase spectacles, move furniture, and anything else they thought was needed. Mark also leaves behind many close friends in this country and the U.K. Mark was an exceptional son, brother, uncle, and nephew, and he had a wonderful life, full of surprises. Now he is in a place where God has wiped away all tears from his eyes, "and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21.4). The family would like to thank the staff of the Houston Hospice for its kindness and competence in working with Mark, especially in his final days. Memorial services will be held in the Chapel of Woodlawn Funeral Home on Thursday at 12.30 p.m. officiated by Rev. H.W. Hastings III of Atlanta, Georgia.