"A Marine is not a soldier. A Marine is a warrior."

Marcus Anthony Miguel Corchado Paradas, age 55, passed away at the Sikeston Emergency Room with his beloved wife by his side.

He was born in Manhattan, New York, to Freddy Corchado and Josefina Paradas Corchado.

Marcus grew up in Alicante, Spain, spending his summers with his father in New York. As a child, he played with toy soldiers and spoke of enlisting in the military from a very young age. In 1987, Marcus entered military school in Spain. At the age of 18, he proudly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served in the infantry. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Corporal.

After returning to civilian life, Marcus settled in Indiana, where he started a family and worked in corrections before relocating to South Florida. Years later, he felt a calling to return to what he affectionately called "playing in the sandbox." He enlisted in the United States Army and was deployed to Iraq, doing what he loved most. He returned to the United States with the rank of Sergeant and received a second honorable discharge.

Between his service in both the Marine Corps and the Army, Marcus was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, numerous other medals, letters of commendation and recognition, and life-saving awards. He lived by the Marine Corps prayer and dedicated his life to protecting others. He saved lives while serving in the military and later in civilian life through his work in corrections and security, earning life-saving pins and additional letters of recognition. Following his military service, Marcus continued serving others in security and corrections, where he was respected for his unwavering convictions, courage, and fearlessness.

Marcus loved action and was always prepared for it. He was rarely seen without his loaded pistol on his hip and four numbered magazines at his side. He often joked, "No one ever got into a gunfight wishing they had brought less ammo,".

He met Natalie in Florida where they enjoyed talking about history, classic literature, architecture, photography, and the commonalities between Spanish and Middle Eastern cultures.

Marcus loved sharing stories from his military days, especially memories of mountain warfare training in Norway, life aboard U.S. Navy carriers, and his many adventures around the world. He had a mechanical mind and a passion for customizing firearms and his Jeep alongside his son, Riley, and stepson, Charles. He also enjoyed making knives and tomahawks, leatherworking, and tinkering with watches.

He loved authentic New York-style pizza, Marlboro Reds-which had to be shorts in a hard pack, with no exceptions-and Cuban coffee, preferably Bustelo.

Those who knew Marcus best described him in ways that perfectly captured his personality.

"He was the most stubborn M-Fer I ever met in my life," said his lifelong Marine brother, Joseph Kriss.

"He did it all his way," shared his friend, Maritza Figaroa.

"He kept his circle small but would do anything for his people," said Darcy Rangel, whom Marcus lovingly called "the daughter I never had."

"He was Mr. Know-It-All, but in a good way," recalled his friend, Cyndi Barry-Walker.

Marcus never apologized for carrying out his duties as a warrior. On numerous occasions, he told Natalie that his only regret was not dying in battle, believing that doing so would have allowed him to enter the Great Hall of Valhalla-a metaphor that reflected the warrior spirit by which he lived.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife, Natalie Francoise Alepin; his son, Riley Corchado (Breanna Sapp); his stepson, Charles Kelley; his grandchildren, Zi'Air Roi Corchado and Za'Nyla Rae Corchado, with another granddaughter expected soon; his mother-in-law, "Maman," Bernadette Alepin; his brother-in-law, John Alepin, and family; his beloved madrina (godmother), Maria Teresa Hernandez Paradas, and her daughter, Teresa J. Lebron Hernandez; his cousin, Lisette Paradas; his Grandma Maggie; his childhood friend and brother for life, Jose Vasquez Franjul, and his twin sister, Laura; Missouri State Trooper Delandis O. Gillespie, whom Marcus proudly called "my adopted son"; along with many beloved family members and friends around the globe.

He also leaves behind Cellie, the turtle he rescued from an inmate, and his cherished Maine Coon cat, Aurelius, named after, as Marcus would say, "the greatest Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius."

Marcus was a Roman Catholic. Before his passing, he was blessed to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and the Last Rites while wearing the brown scapular his niece, Sister Katherine, had given him during a vacation in Florida just weeks earlier.

Semper Fi.

"If he dies, they can close this whole show of a world... they can cart it off, unscrew the stars, roll up the sky and put it on a truck. They can turn off this sunlight I love so much. Do you know why I love it so much? Because I love him when the sun shines on him. They can take everything away-these carpets, columns, houses, sand, wind, frogs, ripe watermelons, hail, seven in the evening, May, June, July, basil, bees, the sea, courgettes..."

- The Tiger and the Snow.

Visitation will be from 10:30 until time of services at 11:30 at Merritt Funeral Home in Brooksville, FL, Interment will follow at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell FL. with full military honors.
A lunch will be hosted by "Maman" following the interment at Southern Hills Plantation Country Club.