Marcus Winston Jarvis' Obituary
Marcus Winston Jarvis of Dallas, Texas born October 6, 1944 passed away December 28, 2015. There are only two certainties in a person’s life, two dates. The day they are born, and the day they die. But it is what lies between that makes a life, that makes a man, that makes a family, that leaves a mark and a memory. Marcus Winston Jarvis was born October 6, 1944, to Jesse Lazell Jarvis and Verbie Jewel Adams in Dallas. Texas shaped the man he was, and the family that had come generations before him. The grandson of a Southern Baptist preacher, he played football in high school, and later served in the army during Vietnam. That sense of duty carried to his own family when he married Rita (maiden name Riccardi) and to his daughter, Melissa, born in 1974. He held many jobs, many careers, many titles. And he made them all fit, from tax consultant to business manager to IT technician. He loved to read, especially science fiction and the possibilities it presented, and even joked about being cryogenically preserved. To his friends, Marc was a man devoted to his family, easy going, ready to roll with the world and whatever it threw at him. One of his favorite phrases was “I just work here.” He had an infectious Southern laugh that would light up his eyes, shining through and magnified perhaps by the glasses he always wore. To his family, he was a man devoted to making them happy, no matter what. Through illness, distance, times both good and bad, he was always there. A rock, sturdy, non-changing. A shoulder to lean on. It is no surprise, now that he is gone, those left feel like they are falling, and must learn to walk again. The birth of his grandson, Nicholas, in 2006, only reinforced the type of father he was, the type of husband many envied. Distance can separate many families, but never his. Nicholas grew up feeling those sturdy arms carry him, hold him, and wipe his tears. That same that he had done for his daughter. Even when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he remained optimistic, that he would be there for his wife, daughter and grandson. To say that his loss on December 28, 2015, was unexpected is an understatement. He fought the disease that takes so many successfully for more than five years. Marc Jarvis certainly made his mark on all that knew him, and he is permanently engraved in the hearts of those who survive him, his wife, Rita, daughter Melissa (and her husband Robert) and grandson Nicholas. He has more than earned his wings, along with an endless supply of his favorite guacamole and enchiladas. May your halo continue to shine in our lives. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
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