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 MARK MCANDREW

 MARK MCANDREW 

Mark McAndrew, 69, of McKinney, TX died Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at the Baylor Scott and White Hospital in McKinney. 

He was born on June 3, 1953 in Burlington, IA, the son of John “Jack” Loren and Kathryn Ladene (Ellison) McAndrew. 

In his early years, Mark attended both St. Paul & St. Mary’s Catholic Schools in Burlington. He went on to graduate from Clark County R-1 High School with the class of 1971. In 1975, he received a business administration degree in accounting from the University of Missouri in Columbia. 

Shortly after graduating, Mark began his career at Prudential Life Insurance, eventually joining the regional office located in Minneapolis, MN. In 1980, he joined the Torchmark subsidiary Globe Life Insurance, and went on to hold various executive positions within the company. He was subsequently elected to the Torchmark Board of Directors in 1998, Executive Vice President of Torchmark in 1999, and Chairman of Insurance Operations in 2003. On August 2, 2005 he was named the Chief Executive Officer, a position he then held until his retirement in 2013. 

Through his involvement over the past decade with ZoeEmpowers.org, Mark’s consistent generosity and passion helped transform the lives of over 13,000 orphaned children and vulnerable youth throughout Africa who were living in life-threatening poverty. He visited many of these children in person over the years, bringing them joy and inspiring hope. As a member and leader of Zoe’s board for seven years, he applied his business acumen in innovative ways, which nearly doubled Zoe’s capacity to reach even more children across six countries in Africa and in India. There is no single person who has had a greater impact in permanently uplifting the lives of orphaned children through this program than Mark. 

He is survived by his wife, Laura; his children, Emily McAndrew-Padalino, Benjamin McAndrew, Betsy Needham, Mary McAndrew, and John McAndrew; his grandchildren Jeremy, Jacob, Ella, Alexis, Lily, Elijah, Lucas, Mia, Wyatt, and William. He is also survived by three sisters, Jeanne Samii of Seguin, Texas, Lucinda “Cindy” Logsdon of Phoenix, AZ, and Melinda “Mendy” Roberts of San Antonio, Texas, along with many nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by both parents, a sister, Theresa Baker, and two brothers, John L. McAndrew III and Michael McAndrew. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 24, 2023 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kahoka, Missouri. Burial will be in the Kahoka Cemetery. 

Visitation will be held from 5–7 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at the Vigen Memorial Home in Kahoka, with the family in attendance together with loved ones during that time. 

A memorial service honoring Mark will be held for friends and family in McKinney, Texas on a future date to be determined. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Jack and Ladene McAndrew Flagship Scholarship Endowment at the University of Missouri. Named for his parents, the fund provides college opportunities to students from Mark’s alma mater, Clark County R-1 High School. Contributions may be made in his memory by designating this specific endowment at https://bit.ly/3983Ilo or by check with specific instructions sent to “Mizzou Gift Processing, 407 Reynolds Alumni Center, Columbia, MO 65211.”