Sherman, Texas -- Mark was born on August 19, 1966, in Melrose Park, Illinois, to Thomas DeMay Jr. and Gilda Guido DeMay. The youngest of 5, his older siblings are Darlene, Joseph, Marie, and Ruth. As a child, he grew up in a little farmhouse in Raymond, Illinois, where he learned about hard work and the satisfaction of a job well done.
At 16, Mark moved with his parents to Dunedin, Florida, where he played football, and as the quarterback took their team to state. In his senior year, he moved back to Illinois, to Murphysboro, where he graduated high school from Murphysboro Christian Academy as valedictorian.
After graduation, he entertained people as a mascot named Captain Applesauce at the Murphysboro Apple Festival! Later, Mark moved to Texas. In 1990, he met his future wife, Shera Peters. They fell deeply in love and soon had four beautiful daughters, Alexia, Gabrielle, Emily, and Alyssa. Mark loved being a “girl dad” and would play with the girls every day after work.
In 2000, Mark went to school to be an Emergency Medical Technician and was the only one in his class to pass the National Registry exam! After graduation, he worked for CareFlite and the American Heart Association as a project manager, where he worked on reports that were read in Congress and helped re-vamp the CPR program in the early 2000’s.
Mark next worked as the office manager of the Radiation Oncology department at Presbyterian Hospital – Dallas, and used his NREMT certification in the ER at RHD Hospital in Carrollton on Saturdays. In 2004, Mark purchased a farm in Ravenna, Texas for his wife and daughters. He put his all into rebuilding the antique barn and updating the farm while still commuting to Dallas every day.
Mark loved spending time with his daughters and never missed an opportunity to create a game or activity for them and their friends to keep them busy and laughing! When the girls became interested in fantasy, he created Edge of Knight Medieval Theater Company where they could perform together – acting & doing illusions and stunts such as sword fighting and fire arts.
Eventually, Mark decided to work locally, and over the years he worked for Tate Law Office, TDCJ at the Buster Cole Unit in the medical clinic, and as the Indigent Care Director for Fannin County. In 2020, Mark sold the farm and he and Shera moved first to Denison and then to Sherman.
Mark loved his home and working in the yard. However, in the spring of 2026, he began having upper respiratory infections that he could not seem to shake. By June, he was hospitalized and diagnosed with leukemia. He fought valiantly, but by the time treatment was started, he was dealing with many taxing complications, and on June 26, 2026, he left our world behind. Mark was a good man and a loving, amazing husband, father, brother and friend, and he will be greatly missed.
