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.