Mark Izzard

Mark Izzard, 54, of Cedarville died early Monday afternoon, January 11, 2016, at War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie with his loving wife, Amy at his side. Mark Allen Izzard was born July 29, 1961, in Sault Ste. Marie to Conrad and Anita (Stevenson) Izzard. He was a 1979 graduate of Les Cheneaux Community Schools and attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette from which he received a welding degree. He married Kimberly Rader in January of 1986 and to this union was born two children, Ashten and Lucas. On June 10, 1995, he was united in marriage to Amy Catherine Mertaugh. Mark was employed by Flotation Docking Systems in Cedarville for 17 years as a welder and later supervisor, the Michigan Department of Corrections, Kinross facility for 9 ½ years as a Corrections Officer and Classic and Antique Boats of Hessel for the past 10 years as a boat restorer. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and uncle. Mark was an all around outdoorsman loving all types of hunting and fishing. He was known as the best fisherman in Les Cheneaux. It's been said, "you could fish right next to the guy and not catch a thing and he could have a bucket full; that guy could catch fish in a bathtub"! In addition to the good hunting and fishing spots, he always found the best spots for morels, asparagus, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and wild strawberries. Mark, who was known to many as "Smiley", was laid back, soft-spoken and always had a positive outlook on life. He was greatly satisfied with the simple things in life and was not at all materialistic. As long as he had his family, nature and his hunting and fishing shacks, he had it all. Surviving are his wife, Amy; a daughter, Ashten (DJ Thomas) Izzard of Kinross; grandchildren, Grace, Sicily, Valentino and Marklynn (Mark's Namesake); parents, Conrad and Anita Izzard of Cedarville; sisters, Brenda Izzard of Northville and Carla Izzard of Warren; nephews, Justin and Michael Johnson; a niece, Megan (Trevor) Bouwens; father-in-law, Jim (Marcie) Mertaugh of Hessel; a brother-in-law, Dan (Judy) Mertaugh of Cedarville; a sister-in-law, Erin (Jason Brooks) Mertaugh of Garden City; his best friend, Mike Autore of Cedarville; his beloved dog, Bruno; numerous cousins, other relatives and friends too numerous to count. Preceding Mark in death were his son, Lucas; grandparents, Luke and Edna Izzard and Sammy and Anna Stevenson; mother-in-law, Elly Mertaugh and brother-in-law, Tommy Mertaugh. The family will greet relatives and friends at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, Hessel from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Saturday, January 16th. A Funeral Liturgy will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday in the church with Brother John Hascall presiding. Burial will be in Cedar Cemetery, Cedarville. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be directed to Clark Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 367, Cedarville, MI 49719 or ALS of Michigan, 24359 Northwestern Hwy, Suite 100, Southfield, Michigan 48075. Dodson Funeral Home of St. Ignace and Raymond B. Ackerman, Jr.-Funeral Director are caring for the arrangements.

Tributes

Mark Izzard

January 11, 2016