HAVERHILL, Mass. -- Mark Young, a veteran Haverhill firefighter of 22 years, moved to Florida last summer to spend his final days riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in warm weather, his wife, Tracy said.
Young, a Haverhill native, was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, but kept trying to return to work because he loved being a firefighter, his friends and wife said.
Young, 51, died Oct. 4 in his home in Port Orange.
"He would always tell me, never ride faster than your angel can fly," Tracy Young said of her husband. "He loved to ride his motorcycle and he always called me his angel. Unfortunately after we left Haverhill, he got sick faster than we expected. He didn't have a chance to ride as much as he wanted to."
Because of a state law that presumes firefighters who die from certain types of cancer contracted the disease on the job, Young's passing is considered a line-of-duty death.
Calling hours are Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home on Main Street. A funeral service with Firefighter Honors will be held on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the funeral home, with burial services to follow at the Firefighters Memorial in Linwood Cemetery on Mill Street.
Former firefighter Paul Weinburg said Young was vice president of the firefighters union during the period in which Weinburg was president a few years ago.
"He was loved by his brother firefighters," Weinburg said. "He was very likable guy. Even when the union was fighting with the mayor, he always got along with him and other city officials."
Weinburg said Young was diagnosed with kidney cancer three years ago.
"He had it really bad, but he kept trying to come back to work because he was a die-hard firefighter," Weinburg said. "But he kept getting sick and injured."
City Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien said she knew Young in her capacity as a councilor and because he was friends with members of her family.
"He was a proud and courageous person and one of the best firefighters I ever met," Daly O'Brien said. "He hated giving it up."
Mayor James Fiorentini said he wished to "extend the city's deepest and heartfelt sympathy to the Young family on their tragic loss."
Born in Haverhill in 1960, Young was the son of James E. Young and Deanna B. (Poley). He attended Haverhill schools and graduated from Haverhill High School in 1978. He was a Haverhill firefighter for 22 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant.
He also leaves three daughters -- Justine M. Young, Jennifer L. Young, and Kayla L. Chapman -- and son Mark A. Young Jr.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
