I've been a proud member of Find A Grave since July of 2000.

I was born and raised in Reidsville, North Carolina. Retired as a sergeant after 18 years of working with the local sheriff's office. My last position there was Public Information Officer (the official spokesman for the agency). I'm honored that I was the first official spokesman the department ever had.

I have also worked either part-time or full-time in broadcasting, both radio and television, since 1979. After 20 years of anchoring the local, daily news on our local, community TV station, I finally retired at the end of May, 2024. While I miss the day-to-day excitement, I'm also enjoying my free time.

In my spare time, I enjoy walking through old cemeteries and checking out the architectural designs of monuments, especially family mausoleums. I am fascinated by the various designs, especially those located in older cemeteries.

I'm more of a "connect the dots" member than one that creates a lot of memorials. I really enjoy connecting family memorials together on Find A Grave. When I find a memorial for an individual, then find memorials for their family members (but they have never been connected) ... I like to put them together to make the record complete. I was never a detective, but it's almost like being one. In my opinion, putting family burial records together is extremely important. The work we do now will be important for those doing research in the future. Of course, if I find that a burial record has never been created (and I carefully check before creating new ones) ... I'll make one.

If you find an error on anything under my direct care, please send a message. I appreciate it when another member helps me to set the record straight.

While I'm not an official photo volunteer, if you need a memorial photo in the Reidsville or Eden area of North Carolina, I'll do the best I can to get it for you. But please have some information on the approximate location of the grave. There are quite a few large cemeteries here, and without some sort of guidance, it can be almost impossible to locate a grave, especially an older one. Just send a message and I'll help if I can.

Allow me to take the time to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has posted a tribute on any of my memorial pages. Or sponsored a memorial. It means so much to know that people really do care, especially people I've never even met. We all share a common thread here, and that's to keep the memories alive of those we loved and cared about. As long as they live in our hearts and minds, then our loved ones who have left before us will live on forever. No one can every take that away.

-Mark