Mark L. Ireland

Mark Louis Ireland, D.O., age 72, of Pikeville, TN peacefully passed to his heavenly home on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at Bledsoe County Nursing Home, Pikeville, TN after a brief but valiant struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was of the Catholic faith and loved his Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mark was born November 29, 1951, in Chicago, IL, the son of Franklin Leo and Louise Georgianna (Helebrandt) Ireland. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Mark attended grade school in Geneva, IL and graduated high school from Marmion Military Academy, Aurora, IL in 1969 with the rank of Captain, a governor-appointed commission as a Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Illinois National Guard and a solid foundation of discipline and leadership skills. He went on to the University of Illinois where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1973. He entered the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Chicago, IL, earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine in 1978, joined the United States Air Force and began his postgraduate internship at David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, CA. Upon completion of his internship, Mark continued his residency at David Grant where he served as Chief Resident from July, 1980 to June, 1981. He was then assigned Attending Physician at Ehrling Berquist Hospital, Offutt Air Force Base, NE. His next assignment in November of 1983 took him overseas to Royal Air Force Greenham Common in Berkshire, England where he was tasked with setting up a complete medical clinic for the United States Air Force personnel stationed there. In 1986 he returned to the United States and was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base in Satellite Beach, FL where he was Chairman of Family Practice until 1989 when he separated from the USAF with the rank of Major to begin his own private practice, Ireland Family Practice.

For the next thirty-four years until his retirement at the end of 2023, Dr. Mark competently treated thousands of patients. He was everything one hopes for in a family doc—a dedicated and brilliant diagnostician, an exceptional communicator who explained medical conditions in everyday language, a good listener, warm, caring and compassionate. He was an excellent and enthusiastic teacher whose door was always open to medical students. He treated entire families for generations and touched many lives not only as a beloved physician but as a very good friend as well.

Mark was a man of varied interests and talents. He had a wonderful, playful, sometimes off-beat sense of humor which made him fun to be around. Mark loved music, especially blue grass, played flute, classical guitar and, later in life, banjo. He enjoyed fishing and canoe trips to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota/Canada, family vacations at Crystal Lake, MI, skiing, playing soccer in the Air Force, boating, golfing and ballroom dancing. However, he found his true passion when he was introduced to competitive sheepherding with his Border Collies. He established his own farm in Malabar, Florida, began raising sheep and started hosting a yearly stockdog trial on his farm that drew handlers from all over the United States and Canada. He served for 10 years as a director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo Grand Finals stockdog trial in Moultrie, GA.  In 2020, he moved his sheep operation to Pikeville in the Sequatchie Valley of TN where, for four years, he enjoyed a preview of how beautiful heaven would be.  Mark loved being a father and a grandfather. He enjoyed family ski trips out west, coaching his sons in soccer and Little League and, as a doting grandfather, enthralled his grandchildren with fanciful tales of the fairies who lived on his enchanted That’ll Do Farm.

Left to treasure Mark’s memory are his beloved and loving wife, Cheryl “Cheri” (Nelson) Ireland; his sons, Brian (Valery) of Melbourne, FL and Kevin (Jessica) of Saint Cloud, FL; step-son, Benjamin (Gwen) Conro of Sugar Grove, IL; brothers, Todd (Vickie) of Milan, IL, Charles (Sharen) and Robert (Carol)  both of Geneva, IL; brothers-in-law, John (Cindy) Nelson of Jupiter, FL and David (Marcia) Nelson of Geneva, IL; sister-in-law, Laura (Howard) Lyle of Omaha, NE;  grandchildren, Evan and Liam Ireland of FL and Jackson and Haley Conro of IL; nephews, nieces, cousins and many friends throughout the United States and Canada.

Mark was bestowed the honor of Life Membership in the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association. He was also a member of the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians and the Tennessee Osteopathic Association, was a lifetime member of the United States Border Collie Handlers Association and also the Greater Stock Dog Association.

Visitation will be held at Malone Funeral Home, 324 East State Street, Geneva, IL on Friday, October 11, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. with liturgical prayers at 8:00 p.m. A private graveside service with military honors will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery, Geneva, IL. To watch the service online visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NhyxXwSPEQ or search malone funeral home on youtube and go to the live tab.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation in Mark’s name to the JROTC  Program or the Guardian Angel Fund at Marmion Academy, 1000 Butterfield Rd, Aurora, IL 60502 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN  38105. Online donations can be made at stjude.org. A printable mail-in donation form is also available at stjude.org. 

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