John Mark Stallings, RIP

Very sad news.  John Mark Stallings, son of Coach Gene and Ruth Ann Stallings died yesterday.  He was 46.  Anyone familiar with Alabama football knows John Mark - and loves him:

"There weren't any lives he (John Mark) touched that weren't made better by his influence," said Linda Knowles, Stallings' secretary at Alabama. "He loved life, and he loved Alabama football."

[...]

"He had a way of lighting up a room," said Alabama Director of Events Larry White, the school's sports information director during the Stallings years at Alabama.

John Mark was born with Down syndrome and the Stallings were advised to institutionalize him.  They refused:

John Mark Stallings was born June 11, 1962, at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa. When a doctor told the family his son was Mongoloid - the term used for Down syndrome at that time - Gene Stallings fainted on the spot.

"When I woke up, the nurses were standing over me and putting smelling salts in front of me," Stallings said in a 1991 interview. "I guess it was the shock. We cried a bushel of tears."

Those tears turned into a lifetime of smiles.

You just couldn't look at John Mark without smiling.  He was just so very special.

John Mark will always be a part of Alabama football, the school and team he loved.  The athletic training facility is named in his honor.  I've watched the replay of Alabama's 1992 National Championship game dozens (if not more) times.  I was lucky to be at the game but there are some things you don't see when you're there.  And one is the picture of Ruth Ann and John Mark cheering, all smiles.  It always brings tears to my eyes when I see it.  I'll watch it again but I know the tears that were once for joy will be tears of sadness. 

Gene Stallings' book, Another Season: A Coach's Story of Raising an Exceptional Son tells the story of this exceptional family. 

Rest in Peace, John Mark.  You made the world a better place.

Kevin Scarbinsky has a beautiful tribute to John Mark here.

Comments

[Don]

Julie, thanks for posting this. It’s taken me a while to compose myself enough to comment because John Mark’s death reminded me of the death of my younger Down syndrome brother Byron about 18 months ago at age 70. Coach Stallings, his wife, and their other children hold a special place in my heart because they chose to help John Mark reach whatever potential he might have, which turned out to be quite a lot, rather than sending him to an institution after he was born or hiding him in their closet. That’s the same decision my parents and siblings made over 70 years ago. My parents and others with challenged children helped start the Orange Grove Center (http://www.orangegrovecenter.com/www) in Chattanooga at a time when their children had no facilities available for their education. Coach Stallings has been to OGC more than once. He and John Mark rank as “Remarkable Men” in my mind.

[Julie]

I know your family was blessed, as was the Stallings family. What an extra blessing your brother lived to be 70 years old.

Thank you for sharing your story.

(I have a younger brother too and I can't imagine losing him. That must have been so hard for you.)

[Don]

Julie, have you seen the coverage of the memorial service for John Mark and the accompanying photos and video on the Tuscaloosa News website @ http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080809/NEWS/669178861/1007/news&title=Friends_remember_the_life__of_John_Mark_Stallings_ ?

(I'm fearful of trying that tinyURL thingy again......LOL}