Dr. Mark K. Aung

Dr. Mark Kyaw Aung, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and physician, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at the age of 84, in Austin, Texas.  

Born in Katha, Burma, on December 20, 1940, Dr. Aung and his family moved to Tengchong, China for several years during his early childhood before returning to Burma to pursue his medical education. He earned his Medical Degree from the University of Rangoon, Institute of Medicine in Burma, completing his studies in 1967. 

Dr. Aung met his wife, Sau Tsun, in Burma. A loving husband and devoted family man, together with his wife he raised three children. They shared a life filled with joy and devotion to each other until her passing in El Paso in January 2016. 

Their life together took them from Burma to Hong Kong in 1970, then to New York in 1972. He completed a rotating internship at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York in 1973, followed by an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at The Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York from 1973 to 1976. He further specialized with a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the same institution from 1976 to 1979. 

In July 1979, Dr. Aung and his family moved to El Paso, Texas, where he worked at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center as an Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine and Hematology/Oncology. In 1981, he established his private practice in El Paso, The West Texas Blood and Cancer Center, where he served the community for 27 years before retiring in 2008. Dr. Aung was a dedicated and much-loved physician who touched the lives of countless patients with his expertise, compassion, kindness, and gentle bedside manner. In 2018, he moved to Austin, Texas to be closer to family in his later years. 

Dr. Aung and his late wife, Sau Tsun, were known for their huge hearts and extraordinary generosity to family and friends. They created an endowment for a primary school in his hometown of Heshun, China. He believed in providing medical care for all, often refusing payment from patients who could not afford chemotherapy treatments. He paid for transportation to MD Anderson for cancer patients needing referrals for clinical studies but lacking the funds to travel. His empathy and generosity extended to some of his physician colleagues and friends, paying medical bills if they were unable to afford it. 

Dr. Aung was a Christian, having been baptized on August 2, 2009, at El Paso Chinese Baptist Church by Pastor Luis Olan. 

Dr. Aung was preceded in death by his parents Sein Wan Lee and Siaung Swint Faung Lee and by his wife, Sau Tsun Aung. 

He is survived by his three children: John Aung, Christine Aung (partner Patrick McDonough), and Thomas Aung (wife Ann Aung); his sister Anne Wou (husband Paul Wou); eight grandchildren: Kimberly Aung (husband Jeff Hoard), Ariel Aung, Emily Aung, Grant Aung, Sydney Sawtelle, Caroline Aung (fiancé Nathan Hauthaler), Lauren Aung, Christopher Aung; and one great-granddaughter, Isabelle Hoard, who was born four days before his passing.  

Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 8:30 am at Sunset Funeral Home West, 480 North Resler Drive, El Paso TX 79912. The memorial service will begin at 9 am with a reception afterward. The committal service will follow at 1 pm at Restlawn Memorial Cemetery, 8700 Dyer Street, El Paso, TX 79904.  Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Homes-West.  Please visit his online memorial at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.