FORT WORTH--Mark Wooten of Fort Worth, Texas, unexpectedly passed away peacefully at home early Sunday morning, July 19, 2020. He was 65. SERVICE: Mark's wish was to be cremated and his ashes spread in Colorado, his "happy place." Because of Covid-19, a private service was held at the family's home. A public memorial will be held when it is safe to do so. MEMORIALS: May be made to RUF.org/donate or cuisineforhealing.org/donate. Mark was born April 4, 1955, in Fort Worth and spent most of his life there. He went to Western Hills High School and graduated from Texas A&M University in 1977. Mark loved his Aggies and defended them unconditionally to his Longhorn friends. Mark and Kitty met in college through Young Life and married in 1978. While Mark's early career was in commission sales, he hit his stride in 2000 when he formed his own company, Credit Card Processors. From there, he branched out into various entrepreneurial ventures, including billboards and real estate. Mark's work mantra was "undersell and overdeliver," and many called him "Mr. Haney" after the salesman character on "Green Acres," the 1960s sitcom, because he always had a new business idea. Mark loved his family with passion and sacrifice. He was proud of Kitty's "school smarts" and loved her sacrificially by giving her the occasional quiet time that she needed, which was not easy for him to do. His boys were everything to him, and he loved being there for them, whether it was advice about getting a car fixed or buying a house, or just laughing uncontrollably with them during family games. He coached their baseball teams for 13 years and also served on the board of West Side Lions. Mark never met a stranger, making friends with the dry cleaner and the restaurant server, and volunteering for Cuisine for Healing. He loved his friends faithfully and his activities centered around them. He attended several Bible studies, a young men's entrepreneurial group of which Mark was the lone patriarch, and a long-standing Saturday morning group at Einstein's. He loved to walk wearing his floppy hat and listening to talk radio. His favorite activity in recent months was pickleball. With his usual relational persuasiveness, Mark obtained permission from the city to paint the neighborhood tennis court to accommodate pickleball as well. He called it "Wooten's Court," and the name is now memorialized. He and Kitty loved their church family and community group at Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA). He served on the board of the Fort Worth Prayer Breakfast, loved to pray for specific requests and believed that it made a difference. Few people love others as generously as Mark did. You could not leave his presence without feeling happier. His broad smile and bear hug will be greatly missed. SURVIVORS: Mark is survived by his wife, Kitty; sons, Carter (wife, Beth) and Clay (wife, Monique); grandchildren, Hazel, Bradly, Colette, Vivian, Theo and William; sister, Patti (husband, Jerry); and Stella Wooten and family.
Published in Star-Telegram on Aug. 2, 2020.