Mark Wayne "Otis" Thornton

Mark Wayne "Otis" Thornton died surrounded by love on 7/31/2021 in Kingsport, TN after 7 months of fighting brain cancer. He is survived by his wife Amylyn Crawford, his stepdaughters LillyBeth and Elly Rose Crawford, his parents Jack and Freda Thornton of Arlington, TX, his sister Rebecca Petty (Steve) and their children Caroline and Drew Petty, in addition to extended family and friends too numerous to mention. Mark Otis was born December 19,1967 in Nashville, Tennessee. Six months later his family moved to Texas where he attended Short Elementary School-where his mother taught him to read and write. Mark moved to Butler Elementary School in the third grade and he picked up the nickname "Otis" while playing on the playground with a fifth grader. Otis was a faithful Texas Rangers Baseball fan and active in the youth group at FUMC, Arlington where he first went on a summer mission trip with Appalachia Service Project (ASP). This experience would turn out to be pivotal in his life. He graduated from Lamar High School in Arlington, TX in 1986 and matriculated to Texas Tech that fall. While at Tech, Otis "studied" Psychology and repeated Spanish. He played guitar, drank coffee, watched late night comedy shows, worked at Habitat houses and Soup Kitchens. Otis was active at the TTU Wesley Foundation where again he connected with a group of lifelong friends and mentors, even taking some of them to experience ASP. He was also a brother in Farmhouse Fraternity ("Farmhouse has no Greek letters") where he picked up many more great friends, played many rounds of golf, drove around cotton fields in the middle of the night in the Datsun pickup, ate his weight in Mrs. Barbara's amazing cooking, and collected the other two parts of his brain, thanks to a class in Freudian Psychology (Ego, Super Ego, Id - you decide which he was). Otis worked summers with ASP during college and then became the year-round center director in Jonesville, VA, after graduating. In his time with ASP he mentored countless staff, hosted youth and adult volunteers, and worked alongside a team of dedicated servants to repair or build homes for hundreds of families and made many lifelong friendships. Otis's life would take him to many towns in the Appalachian mountains after ASP- including Phelps Area Habitat for Humanity, Eastern Eight CDC, Community Ventures Corporation and even as a self-employed consultant. His quest for answers led him to study at Vanderbilt Divinity School and earn an MDiv with a certificate from the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender and Sexuality. Mark Otis's tenacious spirit, resilient hope and "it'll happen" faith bore him through tough times and he eventually moved back to Texas. In 2006 he became the first-ever point person for the city of Ft Worth on the issue of homelessness as the Homelessness Program Director. He spent a decade leading a community-wide development process and served as lead author of "Directions Home: Making Homelessness Rare, Short-term, and Non-recurring in Fort Worth Texas within Ten Years"- which was unanimously supported by City Council and County Commissioners. His innovative work and passion helped to change the culture and understanding of homelessness and worked on the need for housing first. This led to his next job as the Executive Director of the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition which was the backbone organization for the greater Fort Worth area network of housing and service providers for people experiencing homelessness. Otis traveled the world with friends he made. Backpacking in Alaska, climbing Kilimanjaro, floating the Nile, hiking the Andes and exploring Western Europe. Later he would run countless miles in half marathons, a tri relay, and finally the Dallas Marathon in honor of his 50thbirthday. Otis loved the outdoors - camping and hiking, sitting on the beach, working the land, tending animals. He loved working with his hands, using tools to build things - for folks who would benefit from the support of ASP or Habitat, and for his family. In 2016 his life changed again after running a half marathon in Lexington, KY with a group of friends from ASP. Otis and Amylyn re-kindled a love began in 1991 in the Appalachian Mountains- one that had brought Amylyn from the Midwest to the beauty of East Tennessee and then brought Otis back to Tennessee with their marriage in 2017. Otis gladly took on the new challenge of helping parent his "bonus" daughters and having the love filled family he always wanted. Never one to stop being a visionary, a dreamer, an advocate for peace and justice and helping every human have their basic needs met, he studied Public Health at East Tennessee State University, before taking a job as the Executive Director at The Sullivan County Branch House Family Justice Center. Branch House provided multiagency, multidisciplinary, safety-focused services to victims of domestic and sexual violence and their families. He also volunteered for the Kingsport Theater Guild finding his place, backstage, on stage, in concessions, in consultation, and eventually as the President of the Board. Otis attended the Colonial Heights Presbyterian church where he served as a thought provoking and encouraging small group leader for the past 2 years. On January 8, 2021 Otis was diagnosed with a stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme- brain cancer of epic proportions. He told everyone that he was going to "put the blast in Glioblastoma" and spent the rest of his life trying to do just that. Mark Otis was supported and loved by family, countless friends, coworkers, and acquaintances that he collected over his too short lifetime. He tried hard, did hard things and was kind to all people, regardless of status or lifestyle. Mark Otis Thornton made the world a better place through his faith and love and encouraged others to do the same. Formal services will be held at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, Kingsport TN at 4:30pm on 8/6/2021. The service will be live streamed and can be accessed at https://youtu.be/gOIRDk3d-as. A celebration of life will immediately follow the church service at Warrior's Path State Park. Please do not send flowers or plants. If you would like, donating to an organization that makes this world a better place is a great way to honor and remember Mark Otis Thornton. The following are a list of organizations with which he was associated and supported over the years. Appalachia Service Project (asphome.org) Kingsport Theatre Guild (kingsporttheatreguild.square.site/#kaQmFr ) TCHC https://ahomewithhope.org/give/donate Branch House https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BHDONATE?locale.x=en_US Housing Development Alliance, Inc s https://housing-development-alliance.networkforgood.com/projects/31131-support-the-housing-development-alliance Otis had a wide variety of interests and loved learning about other people's passions. He would also be honored to have his name associated with a cause near and dear to your heart. If you do choose to make a charitable contribution, please snail mail a written note to let the family know and why you chose that organization. The family would be ever grateful. Thank you. Trinity Memorial Centers Funeral Home (423-723-8177) is honored to serve the Thornton family.