McHenry Township Fire Protection District mourns death of Mark Justen

Officials from the McHenry Township Fire Protection District said Monday they were grieving the death of longtime board member and former district first responder firefighter/EMT Mark Justen.

"I am at a loss to find the words to describe the great void left both in our hearts and in our building with the passing of Mark Justen," Fire Chief Tony Huemann said. "Mark has been a part of the MTFPD family for 49 years - serving first as a firefighter/EMT for 29 years and for the past 20 years as a member of the board of trustees. Mark's complete dedication to the mission of our firefighters and paramedics is unmatched and it is hard to imagine our firehouse without Mark in it."

Justen, 66, was the fourth generation of his family to run Justen Funeral Homes. For the past 43 years, he has been with the business operations of the three facilities - Justen Funeral Home and Crematory in McHenry, Justen's Wonder Lake Funeral Home and Justen's Round Lake Funeral Home.

He won the McHenry County Coroner's Republican primary race earlier this month.

Among his accomplishments, Justen was a founding member of the McHenry Area Rescue Squad (MARS) on Jan. 10, 1972. In 2000, he was sworn in as a member of the McHenry Township Fire Protection District board of trustees.

Justen was part of many changes that helped the fire department evolve to where it is today, according to the fire district. He was on the board when it hired the first full time fire chief, full time battalion chiefs and currently full time lieutenants.

While a member of the board, Justen also saw the addition of stations 4 and 5 in the district. The call volume for the district has doubled during his tenure on the board from 3,000 calls each year in 2000 to nearly 6,000 a year in 2019.

His commitment to the community also included assistance to Veterans and to New York City after the Sept. 11 attacks. Justen was one of the founding members of the Illinois Funeral Directors Disaster Team in 1992. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 1288, Woodstock Elks and the McHenry Masonic Lodge 158.

Justen is survived by his wife, Nancy, who he married in 1986, and two sons, Rob and Alex.

He graduated from McHenry Community High School and received his mortuary science education from Worsham College.

Funeral arrangements are pending.