Mark Christian Moody

On the evening of Feb. 24, 2020, the most loved and most precious spirit of Mark Christian Moody was accompanied into Heaven by a host of Heavenly Angels.  Mark now resides eternally with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Mark was born on Oct. 29, 1984 in Denison, Texas to Steve and Deanna Moody. He was the middle son and brother of Matthew and Jeffrey. He entered the world as a beautiful, perfect baby. He was born with a very inquisitive and curious personality, with a high energy level that required lots of supervision. He was intelligent and brought many laughs, smiles and much happiness to those that loved him so much. He was a special and delightful young boy.  Anyone that had an opportunity to be around Mark knew and recognized this. He was a strong-willed child. He was just Mark Moody.

At the age of 10, Mark accepted Christ as his Savior. As Mark grew into his teenage years, he become even more adventurous. He was handsome and charming with a fun, outgoing personality.  Throughout his teenage years, Mark had close friends and several very special girlfriends in his life that loved him dearly. He continued to be curious, adventurous, and often went his own way. At the very early age of 16, reacting from a very difficult time in his life, Mark began his long, treacherous journey on the road of drug abuse and eventually addiction. It was an adult lifelong battle for him. He made great strides to overcome his addiction in recent years and for periods of time, he did well – but Satan did not relent. The Bible says that Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy.

Mark attended First Friends Preschool, Washington Irving Elementary, Durant Middle School and Durant High School. He voluntarily attended Thunderbird Youth Academy with the Oklahoma National Guard and graduated in December 2002. He attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University with the hope of majoring in Occupational Safety and Health. He was very capable of accomplishing anything he would have pursued in life. He was super-talented and was gifted with the ability to repair just about anything. He was able to build things such as birdhouses with precision measurements. He could make any household repairs. He was the best yard guy to be found anywhere.  He made things look professionally done. He loved cars, especially Ford Mustangs. He owned three in his lifetime.  He was able to take an engine completely apart and assemble it back perfectly. He was also a fantastic cook.  He made delicious spaghetti, Mark’s own created recipe. He had so many talents. He was exceptional in so many ways.

There were several people in Mark’s life that were more than just friends. Barbara and Clay Collins were what Mark considered his grandparents. Barbara was Mark’s babysitter/caretaker from 10 months old to when he entered school.  As Barbara said, “we were bonded”.  As Mark grew older, he and Clay developed a strong relationship and had many long conversations, especially on their trips to the deer woods.  They both remained dominant figures in Mark’s life throughout the years. They are considered, without a doubt, to be family. He also had a close relationship with his Uncle Jay. Mark had a sincere desire to take on anything that needed to be done around his house and business.  

Since this tragedy, it has become a prominent theme that Mark was kind and offered his help in any way he thought would make people’s life easier. One person described Mark as having a “heart of gold.”  It seems that he was very frequently going out of his way to do something nice for someone.  It was never really known by his family that he did this so often. He never boasted of this or even mentioned it. It was only over the past few days did his family realize, after hearing from many, many people, that he did these things and how he made people feel special.  If someone showed an interest in something he owned, he would give it to him. He was giving and generous.

He had a very strong bond with him Mom, his greatest supporter and cheerleader. He moved back to the family home when his grandmother, Mimi, was at the end of her life.  He offered help and support to his Mom during this time. He was also his mom’s car mechanic, handyman, dog sitter, yard man, comic relief, political and Christian conversationalist. He was also her best friend. He meant the world to his mom who loved his so. He will be so greatly missed.

Mark had a special love for animals.  He loved his dog Shelby the most of all.  She was with him constantly and she loved him so much, too.

Mark’s life was complex with so many ups and downs.  But the most important aspect of Mark’s life is that he was a Christian. There were so many good, long conversations on this subject with people he was close to.  His Bible was found right next to where he slept.  Satan did NOT win this battle.  Life on earth is temporary, Life with Christ is eternal – for those who believe.  Mark was a believer.

Mark continues to live on in the lives of four people that had been praying for a miracle. His heart, liver and two kidneys have given hope and life to four other people. His organs were completely healthy, and he was a successful organ donor. He would like that very much.

He is survived by his mother, Deanna; his father, Steve and partner Pam; his brothers: Matthew and wife, Elizabeth, and Jeffrey and wife, Megan.  Also surviving is his Uncle Thomas J Williams, III and wife Nikita, his Aunt Leta Whitaker and husband, Charlie; his honorary grandparents, Barbara and Clay Collins and many any numerous first and second cousins.  Lastly, he is survived by his most favorite dogs, Shelby and Scooter.

Mark was preceded in death by his grandparents, Vanetta Lou (Mimi) Williams and Thomas J Williams, Jr., Mary (Nona) Allen and Kenneth Moody.

In lieu of flowers and food, please make donations to help fight mental illness, drug addition and the battle against the opioid crisis.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/donations-in-memory-of-mark-christian-moody

Family Hour will be from 6-7 p.m. on Friday March 6, 2020 at the Holmes~Coffey~Murray Funeral Home in Durant, Okla. A celebration of his life will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, 2020 at the First Baptist Church in Durant, Okla. with Garry McNeill officiating. His final resting place will be the Highland Cemetery in Durant with Matthew Moody, Jeffery Moody, Clay Collins, Shaun Collins, Thomas Jay Williams, and Aaron Spiers as his pallbearers.

Services are under the direction of Holmes~Coffey~Murray Funeral Home in Durant, Oklahoma www.holmescoffeymurray.com

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