Mark was born January 1st, 1951 in Blackhawk Heights, IL his family relocated to Santa Barbara, CA in 1955 and then moved to the SF Bay Area in 1962. They returned to Illinois, specifically Crystal Lake in August of 1965. While in Southern California Mark developed a lifelong loyalty for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers sport teams.

After graduation Mark attended the University of Illinois with a major in physics and a minor in chemistry while developing a strong interest in music. During his first year at college, Mark frequently found himself visiting Chicago on the weekends to attend the live music performances of the day.

After his first year at U of I, Mark took a job at the Admiral Corp in Harvard, IL to build his personal musical instrument collection. He purchased a Martin D-18 acoustic guitar, Gibson SG Cherry and a Fender Telecaster Blonde electric along with an Ampeg tube amplifier. Music played in heavy rotation on his stereo, these influences included The Airplane, The Band, The Byrds, Butterfield Blues Band, CSN, The Dead, The Doors, Dylan, Hendrix and some of the obscure artists of the San Francisco scene, Moby Grape, Love etc. Mark moved to Chicago in 1972 to further pursue his musical passion, however his ultimate destiny was to return to California.

In 1973, along with some musical friends he relocated to Berkeley. In 1975, Mark chose to leave the congestion of the Bay Area and moved south to Auberry in the Sierra foothills above the Fresno Valley to pursue a simple life, the good life. Mark's musical interest turned to the country sounds of the day in the valley, he moved from guitar to dobro as his influences shifted to the likes of Jessi Colter, Emmylou Harris, Albert Lee etc. Mark was one of the early adopters of organic farming and also took up baking along with his girlfriend Issa, partially to feed his sweet tooth. He always kept a notebook and several Bic pens nearby and somewhat famously stated that "being a chef was art, but baking is an absolute science."

In the late 80s Mark was involved in an accident injuring his back and returned to the SF Bay Area performing volunteer work as a chef and baker for disadvantaged folks. He continued his lifelong support of the LA Lakers and Dodgers. Mark suffered cardiac arrest and passed on August 25th, 2003. He is survived by his six brothers and sisters.

Farewell to a brother,

Farewell to a friend ...