Daniel John "Dan" Mars

CMSgt. Daniel J. “Dan” Mars, USAF (Ret.) passed away at his home in Byron surrounded by his loving family on June 17, 2021. He was 62 years old.

Raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Dan graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1977. He was the son of Jeanne Murray and the late Walter Mars. He joined the U.S. Air Force in October 1977 and spent his entire career in the Aircraft Maintenance field. He served his country for more than 30 years, with 12 of those years in Foreign Service. Chief Mars was the Chief Aircraft Systems Manager for the U.S. Air Forces Europe, Director of Logistics and directed command policies and procedures for avionics equipment and testing. In his most recent role, Chief Mars supported plans for 2,500 personnel in 18 diverse career fields at five main operating bases as well as managing centralized intermediate repair facilities in support of forward operating locations.

During his three-decades-long military career, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 4 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal with 9 oak leaf clusters, and the National Defense Service Medal with 1 service star.

In 1994, Chief Mars married Mia from Incheon, South Korea, to whom he was married for 26 years. After his retirement from the Air Force, Chief Mars joined Robins Air Force Base as a research corrosion analyst at UDRI and S&K Technologies, where he spent the last 13 years. He helped conduct one of the largest surveys in CPCO history, visiting 20-plus bases containing 11 work centers in each base, having done the entirety of the planning. He supported and incorporated plans to use data analytics in preparation for MAJCOM, Depot, and MDS corrosion surveys as well as provided feedback to the CPCO Data Analytics team.

Dan was a Christian who believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He was a loving husband and will be fondly remembered by his family and friends. He was a consummate patriot who loved his job and the people who worked with him. Dan was fond of riding and shining his motorcycle and also enjoyed fixing and polishing old cars to make them look new again. Aside from cars and motorcycles, Dan collected old fans. A cigar aficionado, Dan enjoyed smoking a good cigar. He will be greatly missed by his friends, neighbors, and the people who loved him.

Those left to treasure his memory are his wife, Mia Mars of Byron; mother, Jeanne Murray of Warner Robins; and brothers, Walter Mars and Stephen Mars (Faye).

The family will receive friends from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at McCullough Funeral Home. Dan’s funeral service will take place immediately following visitation at 11:30 a.m. in the chapel at McCullough Funeral Home. He will be buried with full military honors at Andersonville National Cemetery. For friends unable to attend at this time, the service will be streamed live via the McCullough Funeral Home Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mcculloughfuneralhome/live/.

Learn more about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at www.mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.