John Mark Burton

After a long illness, John Mark Burton passed away peacefully on August 8, 2017, surrounded by his friends, Andy and Amy Hess and their sons.  John "Mark" was a lifelong resident of Covington, Georgia until 2015 when he moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin to be closer to caregivers.   Mark was born January 27, 1955.  He is a survivor of brain cancer at age 13 and lived a full life after treatment.  Mark enjoyed a career of emergency and disaster medicine.  He worked as an early EMT and was the first native paramedic in Newton County.  He later earned his RN degree from DeKalb Technical College.  He was employed in the level 1 trauma center at Grady Hospital, and also worked at Newton and Rockdale hospitals.  Mark loved to help people.  He volunteered on disaster missions for the Red Cross receiving the prestigious Florence Nightingale Medal of Honor in 2011 from the International Committee of the Red Cross after volunteering at dozens of disasters nationwide.  He also worked on the GA-3 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), a federal medical team deployed to disaster areas.  He served at the Oklahoma City bombings, and the Pentagon following the 9-11 event among others. Mark also taught CPR, first aid and nursing skills courses at DeKalb College.  Later in his career, Mark was employed by Critical Care MedFlight, an air ambulance service, as a flight nurse which took him to many countries around the world.

Mark was preceded in death by his father and mother, John Carter Burton and Allene Capes Burton, and his brother Zachery Carter Burton as well as his maternal and paternal grandparents. 

 

Mark always kept a smile on his face despite the progressive health challenges that he faced for the last 7 years of his life.  He enjoyed listening to old country music, photography, gardening, decorating his home back in the woods and listening to the birds.  He really enjoyed driving his corvettes. 

 

A Funeral Service for Mark will be held Saturday, August 12, 2017, 3:00 PM, at the Chapel of Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Home. 1215 Access Road, Covington, with Rev. Dr. William B. Wade, Jr., officiating.  Interment will follow in Covington City Cemetery.  Friends may visit with the family one hour prior to the service on Saturday, from 2:00 – 3:00 PM.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to American Red Cross, P.O. Box 4002018, Des Moines, IA  50340-2018.  www.redcross.org