Mark Joseph Theroux

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Theroux, Mark Joseph A memorial service will be held on February 28, 2017 at 5:00 pm at Heart of the City Church for Mark Joseph Theroux, age 55, who passed away on February 20, 2017, surrounded by his loving family at his home in Eagle River, AK. Mark is survived by his beloved wife of 32 years, Sharon, and their two children, Garrison and Anna, his mother, Eileen, and his three siblings, Rochelle, Paul, and Jim. He was preceded in death by his father, Maurice, who recently succumbed to cancer also. Mark cherished Alaska's outdoors and was often seen running, skiing, biking to work, as well as power-lifting. Fortunately, this passion for exercise matched his love of cheeseburgers and craft beer. Outdoor fun and spirited conversations were shared by all in the Theroux family and his supportive presence will be deeply missed. Mark, the second of four children, was born on May 20, 1961 in St. Paul Minnesota. Mark graduated from Burnsville High School in 1979; there, he and his brother, Paul, were cross-country state champions in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Mark then ran cross-country at South Dakota State University (SDSU) and this Phi Kappa Phi honor society member graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Relations. He met his wife, Sharon, at SDSU and they married on January 4, 1986. Following graduation, Mark worked for three years as a preschool teacher in St. Anthony, MN before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1987 as a C-130 loadmaster in 773rd Tactical Airlift Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. At Pope Air Force Base, Mark flew in the International Airlift Rodeo. In 1990 and 1991, he served in the Persian Gulf War during Operation Desert Storm, transporting troops and supplies into Saudi Arabia. Then, in 1994, Mark earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Woman's University where he was inducted into the International Honor Society of Nursing. Mark began work as a nurse at the Department of Veteran Affairs in Hot Springs, S.D., Sharon's hometown, and the facility where his father-in-law, William Wintz, served as chaplain. In 1998, he was assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in the Primary Care Clinic in Goldsboro, N.C. The second lieutenant advanced to nurse manager before moving to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska to work at the Primary Care Clinic. During these four years of military work, Mark and his family fell in love with Alaska's spectacular beauty. He left the Air Force in 2005 at the rank of major for a position at Providence Alaska Medical Center. From 2006 to 2010, he advised parents as a telephone triage nurse at LaTouche Pediatrics. Mark returned to the Department of Veteran Affairs in Anchorage in 2010, where he and many close friends worked tirelessly to improve veterans' health care. A memorial in Minneapolis, MN is being planned. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to His father, Maurice, recently passed of cancer as well on February 23, 2017. Heart of the City Church in Anchorage, AK.

Published on February 26, 2017