John M. Curlee, or as we all knew him, “Mark”, passed peacefully on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Mark worked hard and played hard. He loved his family, his construction career and riding his Harley Davidson.
Mark started framing houses right out of high school and before going into commercial construction worked with Qualla Housing Construction. He made life-long friends there and joined their fast-pitch baseball team. He was very proud that the team made it all the way to Nationals in San Francisco, CA.
Mark went on to build buildings like The Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., (the tallest building in the city and state), Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami, FL and even built the original Harrahs Cherokee Casino parking deck. A little trivia: he once taught a construction class at Auburn University and his favorite author was Tony Hillerman.
Mark was born in Millbrook, Ala. on Sept. 25,1963 but Cherokee always held a special place in his heart. He loved the storytelling, sense of humor, and kinship with the people and traditional ways of life.
Please keep Matthew and Ty in your good thoughts and prayers they will miss their one-of-a-kind dad. He taught them both about family, hard work, how to cuss, laugh, how to play cards and baseball…now Mark rides on. But don’t shed a tear for he lived free, had no regrets and loved his life, so ride on Mark and rest in peace. Until we meet again.