Mark turns 80! Celebrating a big birthday, family style

ALBANY — Mark Anderson is my brother-in-law. He turned 80 on April 28. My husband’s family gave him a two-day celebration in honor of this landmark occasion.

Mark is the second child of Rufus and Edna Anderson. Glenwood is the first-born, then Mark, Dawn, Connell (my husband), and Sabra (the baby of the family).

Mark is an Army veteran who completed basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., then was stationed at Fort Sill, Okla. He was later sent to Fort Polk, La., and then returned to Fort Sill. He had made many friends at Fort Sill and was glad to be able to go back. Mark was a young, tall guy when he went into the Army. He didn’t weigh that much. After three years in the Army, he grew muscles and some “meat” on his bones.

He is married to Marlaina and has three adult children: Michelle, Chance, and Delaina. He has seven grandchildren. He retired from Colonial Pipeline.

Sabra spearheaded the birthday celebration. She always wants to honor her brothers and sister for all their “big event” birthdays. Mark and Marlaina live near Atlanta, so they made the drive down to southwest Georgia in Cairo. They stayed at Sabra’s camp house, which is located by a pond.

On the first day of the celebration, all the siblings and their mates (Gloria, Marlaina, Roy, Donna, and William) went to get a seafood lunch. We all laughed, ate good food, and enjoyed each other. Their family has a lot of stories about growing up. They were told by different ones. After lunch, we went back to the camp house and sat on the back porch. We had a choice of chocolate or coconut pie (made by Dawn). We sat for most of the afternoon, and the stories kept on coming.

The next day, we had lunch at Sabra’s. This was the big party day. Sabra has a cookhouse behind her house, and she had decorated it very nicely. She even had a “Happy 80th Birthday Mark” picture frame for photos. We ate barbecue with delicious sides. Sabra had made not one but two red velvet cakes. Red velvet is Mark’s favorite cake.

Mark had requested that no gifts be given. We didn’t listen, and we all gave him birthday gifts. As he was opening them, he had to hold back his tears. He was so touched and full of emotion. He said he was thankful for his family and what they mean to him.

Let me tell you about their family. There are three brothers and two sisters. They love and respect each other. There is very little conflict, and they all get along. They really have a mutual admiration society going on. Their parents did a wonderful job of raising them. Believe it or not, there is very little drama with them. In this day and age, not many people can say that. They cherish their time together and have been blessed in so many ways.

Mark is really 80 years young. In fact, he is in good company with many celebrities turning 80 this year, including Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Wayne Newton, Harrison Ford, Judge Judy, Marsha Mason, Graham Nash, Martin Scorsese, three of the Beach Boys (Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston), Michael Bloomberg, and even Joe Biden. Well, you might could say that 80 is the new 60.

We will always remember Mark’s 80th birthday. Many pictures were taken. Southwest Georgia was the perfect setting for our family celebration. And the celebrations keep on coming. The next one will be in Atlanta with his children and grandchildren. More memories made for the big guy, Marcus Delanous Anderson.

Special Photo: Donna Anderson1Special Photo: Donna Anderson