Dr. Mark Edward Holton

passed away at Woodland Estates September 12, 2025, very peacefully with close friends by his side. He was preceded in death by his parents & younger brother, Roy Greg Holton. Mark has an older Sister, Gail Joyce Heintzelman (husband, John) of Paxton, IL, & younger Sister, Rhonda Sue Haile (husband, Earl), of Monticello, Indiana which are both still living. He is also survived by three nephews & three nieces.

Mark was born January 15th, 1947 in Brunswick, Georgia to his parents George J. Holton & Florence Lenora (Sue) Crocker. His father was career Military & they moved often. It was reported that the discipline in the home was much harder than the men under him in the Army.

His early years were both sad & very hard. He left home when he turned 16yrs old. God helped him get his first job & to live in a dog kennel he worked at in St Louis, MO. Those were the happiest times in his young life.

After graduating from High School, he packed up his 1957 Chevy & drove to Baylor University where he had been accepted into pre-med program.

He had no job, no place to stay, and no food to eat, and needed help with tuition. God was with him! A terrific lady in student aide office helped him. When he left he had a job in the student union cafeteria, where he would help feed students while receiving free meals, a position at the library which would pay him $100 per month, and also gave him a significant decrease in his tuition from the $25 per semester hour to only paying $6.00 per hour, and a room in Kokernot Hall one of Baylor's three Men's dormitories. He lived there for free as a student wing director. He was known as the "DETERMINATE". These were good years.

He met Judith while in grad school. She was the love of his life and they soon married. He was then accepted to medical school at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He joined the Army. As a result they paid his expenses for medical school. After graduation he did his Pediatric residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. After Residency he served at Noble Army Hospital, Ft McClellan, Alabama as Chief of Pediatrics for 3 yrs.

Mark returned to Ft. Worth, Texas to start his private Pediatric Practice from 1982-2000 when he retired. After retirement he & Judith got an RV & traveled for a few years. It was during that time that Judith informed him one morning she was leaving him. They were divorced. This was a total shock & rocked him to the core. That time was the lowest in his life.

God saved his life & took him to Centralia, Washington. He lived near Tom & Cindy Cooke, His best friends since Medical School. He gradually realized that their children & grandchildren were his family and he soon became Papa Mark! These were good years. He worked on the farm. All of extended family of Tom & Cindy also adopted Mark. His last few years saw Alzheimer’s slowly taking his memory. He did not want to die of Alzheimer's. God gave him his wish. He died of a stroke.

We want to thank the staff at Woodland Estates for his care at the end of his life.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 18th at 10AM at Grace Church in Chehalis. In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Mark's name to the Grace Church Youth Group, or the Lewis County Animal Shelter.

Mark will be missed so much! God gave him a servants heart. He was not happy if he couldn't help someone. At times it was getting someone a cup of coffee, other times it was doing a dirty job no one else wanted to do. Just as Jesus washed his disciples' feet, Mark did anything for others without bringing honor to himself. Mark was a member of Grace Baptist Church in Chehalis, Washington, where he loved greeting people as they came to worship. Although he fought sadness, he was always happiest helping others. Mark we loved you & will miss you!