Mark is survived by his beloved wife, Ashley Clark Preston; sisters, Jan Preston, of Kingwood, Texas, and Carol Wood and husband Barry Wood; and niece, Brittany Wood, of Metairie, Louisiana. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on the 22nd of January 1952. He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin Franklin Preston and Shirley Yvonne Frois Preston.
Mark Preston was a well known and highly respected 35-year commercial real estate veteran in Houston. He started his career at Latter & Blum Company in New Orleans after graduating from Tulane University.
Relocating to Houston in 1979 to work for the Henry S. Miller Company, Mark established the Landlord Agency Leasing Group for the company. The Henry S. Miller Company later merged with the Grubb and Ellis Company, where he served as a Senior Vice President of the Office Building Division for over 20 years.
Mark’s successful career in commercial office leasing resulted in the completion of numerous major office marketing and leasing assignments in New Orleans, Houston, and New York. Mark’s professional experience included working with such well known firms as: Exxon Mobil, Interfin Corporation, Koch Industries, John Hancock Insurance, State Farm Insurance and Teacher’s Pension Fund.
It was in New York City that Mark met his future wife, Ashley Clark, and together they returned to his adopted home of Houston. Ashley and Mark continued his career with Moody Rambin Interests, where he was responsible for office building owner representation. In 2009, he became Managing Director at Parkway Realty Services (PRS). Throughout his career Mark successfully worked on many different projects, including The Weslayan Tower building, the Four Oaks Place project, and the Greenspoint Plaza project.
Mark was a consistent top producer during his career and successfully leased over 37 million square feet of some of Houston’s premier commercial office space. He was recognized by his peers and the Houston Office Leasing Brokers Association in 2010 as the Landlord Broker of the Year.
Among Mark’s proudest achievements were not only his business accomplishments, but also his commitment and devotion to the mentoring and development of young professionals entering the real estate business. Many successful individuals in the industry trained under his friendship and counsel. Mark was an extremely generous and kind individual, and was passionate about helping others.
The funeral service is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Monday, the 28th of February at The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston, where the Rev. Dr. Laurens A. Hall, Rector, is to officiate.
In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in memory of Mark may be directed to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX, 77210; or to World Vision, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA, 98063.
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