Augusta County Schools mourns passing of long-time employee Mark Lotts

The Augusta County School Board and school community are mourning the loss of Mark Lotts, who served as executive director of business and finance.

Lotts, 67, was traveling southbound on Tinkling Spring Road in Augusta County on Thursday when at approximately 12:26 p.m. his BMW crossed the center line, struck a Dodge Ram pickup going northbound, then went off the right side of the road.

Lotts was pronounced dead at the scene, while the pickup driver was taken to UVA Health.

The crash remains under investigation.

“Mr. Lotts was admired and cherished by everyone who knew him. His love and dedication to Augusta County Schools were unmatched as a professional, colleague and friend,” the school system said in a statement. “Mr. Lotts was highly regarded in his role due to his abilities to form a budget that reflected the priorities of the division. He will be sorely missed. We ask all to please keep Mr. Lotts’ family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Lotts was born in Waynesboro on July 29, 1957. He graduated Stuarts Draft High School in 1975 and Blue Ridge Community College in 1977 with an associate’s degree in Business Administration, according to his obituary.

A “Double Duke,” Lotts earned his bachelor’s in Business Administration in 1979 from JMU and a master’s in Business Administration and Accounting and Finance/Financial Management in 1993.

While in high school, he worked at the Waynesboro Community Hospital in the kitchen, which enabled him to pay for his education at BRCC and JMU. At the hospital is where he met a nurse, Rosanna “Rose” Marie Zimmerman whom he would marry in 1979.

After the area’s hospital merger, Lotts began a new journey with Augusta County Schools and served as director of finance for the Valley Vocational Technical Center from 1990 to 1997. He then served as Construction Administrator Assistant before becoming Executive Director of Finance and Business in 2001. Lotts recently announced he would retire in December 2025.

Friends and family will remember Lotts for “his gracious big heart, humble compassionate spirit and being a friend to everyone he met.” A railroad enthusiast, Lotts collected insulators. He also enjoyed racquetball, basketball, softball, concerts and walking his dogs.

Lotts was proceeded in death by his wife, Rose. He is survived by his son, Mark Edward Lotts II, and daughter, Holly Ann Lotts.

A visitation will be held March 7 at McDow Funeral Home, 1701 W. Main Street, Waynesboro, from 5 to 8 p.m.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. on March 8 at White Hill Church of the Brethren, 749 Old White Hill Rd., Stuarts Draft.

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