Mark A. "Radar" Sigsworth

Mark A. “Radar” Sigsworth was born July 27, 1954 in Norfolk, VA, and he left us too soon on November 15, 2022 in Grove City, OH. For Radar, life was a series of stories connecting strangers as friends, friends as family, and family above all else. The path of a story-teller is not linear, but spontaneous and organic, so this is how we will tell his story.

Radar’s mom, Alma Sarr, worked for a brief time in the early 1960s with a woman named Alice Mitchell. Alice had three daughters—one of whom was Junia. Radar and Junia would eventually reunite after a childhood friendship and marry in 1986, moving from North Carolina to California, but, before we tell that story, let’s stay in North Carolina a little longer.

In the late 1970s, Radar worked as a police officer for the Town of Manteo. He had a striking resemblance to the character, “Radar,” (from the TV show, “MASH”) and the nickname stayed with him the rest of his life. He served on the detail for Queen Elizabeth’s daughter, Princess Anne, when she visited Manteo during the 1984 commemoration of the “400th anniversary” of English settlers' first landing in the New World. This important job required Radar to pass background checks by the FBI, CIA, and Interpol—which he passed with flying colors! He was an extraordinary man.

This early experience in law enforcement and passion for helping others led to Radar’s 35+ year career as an EMT. Over those years, he also drove ambulances, served as the assistant fire chief for the volunteer fire department in Garberville, CA, volunteered for disaster preparedness programs such as the “Every 15-minute” initiative aimed at teaching high schoolers the dangers of drunk driving. He also taught EMT classes at College of the Redwoods, where he would eventually also work as a Security Guard.

Speaking of jobs, Radar’s favorite job was being a parent to David and Tanner. After reconnecting with Junia in 1986 and quickly falling in love with her and her two children, they moved from North Carolina to Garberville, California, to help with the family business, the Sherwood Forest Motel. As though Radar’s days each had an extra eight hours in them, on top of everything else, he served as manager of the motel from 1986 until David and Tanner took over the business in 2018. When the business sold in 2020, Radar, Junie, and David all moved to Ohio to be closer to Tanner, who was already living in Columbus.

After retiring to Ohio, he naturally went back to work. He found a job driving a supply truck for a company that manufactured ambulances. For a man who worked three jobs at a time most of his life, his work gave him purpose, and having spent 35+ years as an EMT, he felt at home surrounded by ambulances and medical equipment.

As if there were ever any minutes left in the day, when not working or spending time with his family, Radar could be found riding his Harley, fixing up his El Camino, volunteering his moulage makeup expertise for disaster trainings, barbecuing a mean tri-tip, or relaxing with his many cats. He was the most generous and accepting man you’d ever meet, equally comfortable around bikers who came to Garberville for the annual Harley Davidson “Redwood Run” as he was grilling burgers for an LGBTQ “Pride in the Redwoods” celebration, and the motel front desk was the perfect place to share stories and meet new friends.

Mark A. “Radar” Sigsworth, age 68, passed away on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. He died suddenly at work, and while this has made his passing especially hard for those he loved, we are comforted in knowing it was exactly how he wanted to go.

Radar is preceded in death by his parents, Allyn and Alma Sigsworth, his father-in-law, Earl Mitchell, and his mother-in-law, Alice Mitchell. He is survived by his beloved wife of 36 years, Junia, sons, David Johnson, Tanner (Melanie Corn) Johnson, grandson, Julian Cornson, sister, Maryemma Bachelder, his many furry companion cats and every friend he made along the way.

Radar will be missed by all who knew him. A visitation time for friends and family will be held on Friday December 2, 2022 from 11 am - 1 pm, followed by a brief 1 pm service for Radar at SCHOEDINGER GROVE CITY (4242 Hoover Road, Grove City, OH 43123). For those unable to attend in person, please visit https://webcasts.lifetributes.com/1240987 to view the service online at 1 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Columbus Humane.