Reflections on Mark

I met Mark through the small men’s fraternity at Belhaven College known as Tau Sigma Phi. The membership limit was 25 guys, and at the beginning of the school year the opportunity to meet or “rush” those interested in joining our group took place in a gathering that for some unknown reason was referred to a “Smoker.” There were no cigarettes, cigars or pipes. Mark was a freshman to my junior year status. As Bob’s younger brother, who had been a pledge with me 2 years before, Mark was a shoe in for an invite, the same as Knox Baird and Kris Callen, whose older brothers, Jim and Cal, were also members. Looking back, I’m sure that on that “Smoker” night Mark displayed his best theatrical skills as he played the part of just another “joe college normal guy”. But it didn’t take long to realize that there was nothing normal about his larger-than-life persona, one kindled in part by an extreme depth of creativity that few people possess and that no one could miss. That creativity was usually expressed through a song, a drawing, a writing or even a costume. It was always humorous and included his amazing ability to produce something out of nothing. Most of us here today don’t have to reach too very far into the recesses of our minds to remember some such occasion where he made us laugh, or made us cry, when he encouraged us or possibly even exasperated us. No matter what the occasion and no matter what his avenue of expression was, Mark’s delivery motto was: Bigger is always better!

After that initial meeting, I was able to observe Mark in multiple settings. Besides the Tau Sig connection, he sang in the Choir under Henry Ford, took multiple classes under Bewey Bowden, and was a star in several stage productions. And even if he wasn’t billed as the “Star” of the show, he was…….. the star of the show. I can still see him during his sophomore year in what was the smallest part of the play, “See How They Run”, but one he used to steal the spotlight and the show, as the visiting vicar, Arther Humphrey. And of course, the favorite for many was the Mark Horton rendition of “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and the question was always who he would pick to “turn with a jerk!” In later years, his likenesses to Santa were used by him on many occasions, but my favorite was the Christmas card where he was Santa and Bob was the baby as they fought over who had possession of the bottle.

The practical joke realm was also his domain. I was asked to become a member of a Mardi Gras Carnival association in my hometown, known as the Mystic Krewe of Zeus, or to deflect attention to the frivolity, the Hattiesburg Civic Association. The whole thing was a very formal affair, which made me want to act accordingly. So, armed with my Crane stationery, I asked Mark to use his calligraphy ability to write up my RSVP responses in hopes of adding a touch of class. When he returned the first sealed envelope for mailing, I became suspicious due to the envelope having a fragrant scent. It then seemed like a good idea to open the envelope, only to discover that on the outside cover of the notecard he had drawn a very intricate smiley face, with his signature “Tee Hee” expression in quotes. Trying to give Mark a lesson in understanding the nuance of when jokes were possibly too practical, was somewhat futile, to say the least. Looking back, it probably would have been an occasion long remembered by those handling the incoming mail to have received Mark’s scented and smiling version.

Spontaneity was another key trait. Mark and Frances Haynes happened to notice on the marquee of the Holiday Inn next to Milsaps a welcome sign for the Council Manhattan School’s Jr./Sr. prom that evening. It didn’t take much convincing for Frances to don a long dress and for Mark to pull out his choir tuxedo and join the group for dancing, for refreshments and even for getting their picture made with their new fellow Jr’s and Sr’s to document the experience.

After graduation, I later was able to see Mark under a different view when we both worked part time at Daniel, Coker, Horton, Bell and Dukes, on a project that required the paralegal at the time to gather a staff of workers for cataloguing a tremendous amount of discovery information. She zealously cracked the whip to the point of bringing on a mutiny. Not a problem for Mark, he simply orchestrated a hooky day where we all went to Nancy Knapp’s grandmother’s farm house in Lexington, MS, for a picknick and horse-riding afternoon. He didn’t seem concerned at all about getting a pink slip, as the rest of us did, who didn’t have their last name attached to the building.

After receiving his Masters of Fine Arts in Costume Design from the University of Texas, I was able to see Mark from a different view as he held multiple roles with Ballet Mississippi, Ballet Magnificat, New Stage Theater, or personal consignments. When Mark was the costume coordinator for the Nutcracker ballet, it would not be unusual for him to arrive at Gina’s and my front door wearing one of the oversized mouse costumes. He later helped Anne Long remake her grandmother’s dress for her marriage to another Tau Sig brother, Chip Jones, while brother Bob handled the photography duties. I still can see the white skirt with a variety of green circles he made for Marion Vance Silber. He got many of his friends to agree to stay up all night to have our hair cut and to be dressed out in 1940’s drab clothing for a chance to be an extra in Tom Rice’s film, “The Rising Place” only to have our best costume scene, requiring the actual sunrise, to stay forever on the proverbial cutting room floor. And one of his later movie assignments was costume coordination for another Tom Rice picture, titled, “Speech and Debate” where he enlisted my daughter Ann as a paid shopper (she was very experienced at shopping without pay). His work even included the Christmas programs he would make sure I attended at Providence Presbyterian, which were incredible. His ability to pull off such genuinely authentic looks on limited budgets only further cemented the limitlessness of his creativity. And before that he was always a part of the First Presbyterian Church-Jackson choir whenever possible. That experience included a number of programs he was instrumental in assisting with, either for the choir or the singles group. Cathy May recently sent me copies some of those scripts and programs.

Somewhere during this time, Mark made New York his home. It made a lot of sense for him to be in the Theater Capital of America, but his most long term jobs included temporary positions that took advantage of his exceptionally fast data input ability or in a greeting capacity at Redeemer Church. One of the things he loved most about that time were the mission trips to Turkey. Health issues for him or other family members had him transitioning between the Mississippi and New York locations. But I believe he much appreciated the opportunity to be near at the time of his father’s passing. Some of his Facebook posts of the city life and his take on what he observed were just more examples of his discerning eye. One of my favorites was this past February, after a snow, with a picture he took of a rose bush, that looked more like a blooming bush of cotton and reminded him of home. And several years before that, he posted a clever group of pictures and included a related list of what he would have missed if he had not gone to church that morning. Don’t Skip Church. Vintage Mark. We also had a conversation about “The Wizard of Oz”, where he finally saw the ending and was disappointed in the special effects. My wife Gina experienced the same thing as the show came on television on Sunday nights and they always had to leave for church before the ending. I would be remiss not to mention the Messiah’s Reformed Fellowship and what an apparently good and strong matching that was for all involved. I have read comments of their blessing from knowing Mark, and I heard from him first hand how much he was blessed by them. I believe he loved this environment where his strong biblical background was used and appreciated by others, much that same as he appreciated the love they showed to him. And they loved him without ever knowing the “young” Mark that most of us became enamored with decades before.

In true providential blessing, Mark was in Jackson this past October for the Belhaven Homecoming that was the 45th anniversary of his graduating class. He had originally planned not to come but at the last minute decided to come, encouraged by being able to share an Airbnb with Kris Callen. When I looked back at some texts, I saw where I had said he should come to the reunion and, with no thought of him, made a typically irreverent but factual Mike comment that “more people will be alive at the 45 year versus at the 50 year!!!” His response was, “Yeah, I’d already thought about the fewer 50 year attenders”. I’m so glad he came! His first night in town was spent at Fran Finney Armstrong’s to assist her as she was giving a party the next day. The weekend was a great gathering, and he got to visit with so many old but familiar friends. On Sundy he also sang with the First Presbyterian Church choir for the anthem, “This is My Father’s House,” arranged by a favorite, Mack Wilberg, with the familiar face of Derick Thomas filling in at the pulpit. A group went to lunch with Mark and Bob and then he was whisked off to Judy Rhodes Davis’s house where she was given the daunting task of getting him to the airport for an early flight! He could not have had better weekend!

If I were to stop here, we might have shared a few examples (with literally hundreds more omitted) of Mark’s many escapade, but we would have missed the driving force behind his creative, complex and intense nature. A nature purposed by the Creator, for a sinner, saved by grace, through the work that is only available from Jesus the Son, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. This saving grace was the driving force that colored every action Mark took. As funny as Mark was, there was no flippancy. As creative as he was, there was no simplicity. As light-hearted as he appeared, he was deadly serious. There was nothing lukewarm about Mark. I remember a conversation where I suggested that he might consider understanding the fact that everyone just wasn’t as intense as he was about things. While he could understand the words, he just wasn’t able to internalize that reality. Why? Because he questioned, he analyzed, he debated with himself and with others about what it was that God wanted him to do in living out his own “chief end”. He knew the seriousness of the sacrifice Jesus had made for him, and he desperately wanted to, in response to Jesus’s statement regarding “who was his mother, and who were his brothers”…. he, Mark, wanted to obey Jesus’s command that stated his mother and brothers were those who “do the will of His Father who is in Heaven”. I took advantage of this characteristic many times during our friendship, knowing we could discuss a situation, a newly popularized preacher, a sermon, or a theological question and that I could always count on gaining a thoroughly and biblically grounded response. And beyond the availability for discussion, he was always there for many of us as a most trusted prayer partner and always a cherished friend.

Mark clearly recognized how much he had been gifted by God, with an overabundance of talent, with a large, extended family that he cherished, and with an ability to move into any environment and immediately endear himself to a new set of friends. His uniquely intense focus that he channeled into his desire to “glorify God” reminded me of the verse “do your work heartily, as unto the Lord and not unto men.” Mark did everything heartily and he desired to do everything unto the Lord.

Mark spent years making us all smile, and so it is very comforting to think of how we can continue to smile knowing he is now able to perfectly participate in his chief end …………..​”to glorify God and enjoy him forever”……… now, in his Savior’s presence, and now, in His Heavenly home.