Mark Burns

It is with a heavy heart that we, the Garden Avenue Community, share the sad news of the passing of Nina’s father, Mark. Nina, a Grade 4 student at our school, is going through an incredibly tough time, and our thoughts are with her and her family.

We’ve included Mark’s obituary below to honor his life and legacy. If you’re able and would like to offer support to Nina and Christina during this time, we’ve set up a GoFundMe page. Any contributions, big or small, will go directly to helping them with expenses and to ease their burden as they navigate this loss. Please see obituary below:

"Mark Devon Burns, 47, of Toronto, passed away peacefully on March 9, 2025 at home. Mark fought a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Mark was born on May 8, 1977, to Martin Burns and Nina Burns (nee Krucnuk) in Toronto, Ontario. He attended school at Balmy Beach, Glen Ames, and Malvern. He later worked in the hospitality field, at My Apartment night club and at hotel Le Germain.

Mark met the love of his life, Christina Sabadello, on March 8, 2015 and welcomed their daughter, Nina, December that year. Mark was proud of and loved his little family deeply, excited to be a stay-at-home girl dad, which was a role he relished. He was able to impart upon Nina his epic love for model train sets, rail travel, Japanese video games, horror movies, tabletop miniature war games like Warhammer, English narrow boats, Christmas, Doctor Who, and Algonquin Park.

Mark is preceded in death by his brothers Pat and Mike (Sherri). He is survived by his siblings Sharon (Barry), Colin (Donna), Cathy (George), Bill, Paul (Elke), Nancy (Mike), Maggi, Glenn, and Damian; sisters-in-law Candice and Colleen (Nick) and brother-in-law Lucas (Patricia); uncle and great-uncle to many!

Mark, Christina, and Nina always wanted to travel together and managed to visit Prince Edward Island, Ponta Delgada, Portugal as well as enjoy Mardi Gras in New Orleans before cancer and COVID took that away.

Mark’s many friends will miss him dearly. Mark was always a great storyteller, especially concerning his father’s Rochdale days, always quick with a funny wisecrack or sidebar, and he always had a strong opinion about almost everything under the sun. He was a constant font of knowledge. Mark asks all of you to be proactive about your colorectal health - if something feels wrong, act on it, even if you are told you’re too young to worry or don’t have a history of it in your family. For more information and details about the Celebration of Life, click here ."

Thank you for considering a donation. Your kindness and support mean the world to Nina and Christina, and we know it will be deeply appreciated by the family. Let’s come together as a community to show them the love and care they need right now.