FARRIS, MARC ANTHONY (AGE 54) OF NEW CARROLLTON, MD

Marc Anthony Farris was born August 2, 1962 in Washington, DC to Inez Russ Farris and the late Douglas Farris. He was rambunctious, mischievous and outgoing.

He attended St. Gabriel's Catholic School (grades 1-8) where he excelled academically, played sports, served as an altar boy and was a crossing guard.

Marc was enterprising and hard working. He was always willing to cut grass, shovel snow and any other odd job to earn extra money. He worked whenever he wasn't in school.

He matriculated to DeMatha Catholic High School, where he again excelled academically, played sports, and started the Black Student Union. He played football for one of the best coaches in the country and with some players who went on to play professionally. The Stags went 19-2 over Marc's two years on the varsity team.

Marc also attended both Montgomery and Prince George's Community Colleges to further his education.

Always eager to work, Marc worked several jobs. Like many young people in D.C., he participated in the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program, assisting a District of Columbia Superior Court Judge in his courtroom and chambers one year and a Civil Division Commissioner the next. He also worked for Guest Services, Inc. (GSI), Prince George's Hospital Center, Cable News Network (CNN), construction and as a proctor at the George Washington University.

He won praise at every stop for both his professionalism and his demeanor from supervisors and colleagues alike.

Marc wasn't all work, he liked to play too. He loved cooking and music. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was usually the life of the party. His smile, his exuberance and his limitless energy were contagious. You couldn't have a bad day around him. His loud, bold personality appealed to a very eclectic group of people from all walks of life. He lived a life of variety.

He was also outspoken. If he had an opinion, he wasn't afraid to express it. He never took himself too seriously; but despite his young-at-heart attitude, he matured into an independent man of deep faith in God. Marc joined the First Church and was active in its ministries, especially with feeding people, Mother's Day Breakfast and its Thanksgiving Outreach.

He regularly prayed, read the bible and attended church until he was unable to do so because of his declining health. He might not have been physically present, but he was never without his faith wherever he was and in whatever he was doing.

Marc transitioned to eternal life with Jesus on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at the Prince Georges Hospital Center in Cheverly, MD. Today, we celebrate his life. We will fulfill a command of Jesus to bury his body, not his spirit. His spirit is eternal. He will live on in our hearts and minds whenever we remember his jokes, his laugh, his temper, his energy and his positive impact on all of our lives. Always remember his passion, his enthusiasm for new experiences and the youthful joy with which he lived his life.

He packed a lot of living in his relatively short life. He leaves behind a multitude of people who love him and will miss him and that is the true measure of a man.

Left to cherish many memories are his loving mother, Inez Farris; two sons, Patrick Carter and Anthony Taylor; step children, Tasha Brown and Christopher Bush, grandchildren; brother, Gary Douglas Farris; three great aunts, Betty Thornton, Dorothy Flamer and Yvonne Neal; great uncle, Leon Thornton; aunt and uncle, Margie and Bernard Farris of Dayton, Ohio; many cousins; his godmother, Lizzie Jones and many life-long friends, including Teri Williams.

Viewing 10am until time of Service 11am, Friday, December 2, 2016, First Church of Christ (Holiness) USA, 1219 Hamlin Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017. Interment Resurrection Cemetery, 8000 Woodyard Road, Clinton, MD 20735.

Arrangements entrusted to Thornton Funeral Home, P.A., 3439 Livingston Road, Indian Head, MD 20640.