We lost a great guy today

[Todd]

Oh yeah,if you can make it on Saturday throw a Gold dart in your pocket. Mark would laugh at that.

[SRQGator]

RIP MarkM. I will retire my favorite pair of jorts in your honor.

[Erick]

For those who get to the services today, please pass along my thoughts, my prayers and condolences. Mark was a great friend. I was unable to be there today and my heart is heavy. But I will get there at some point to pay my respects and leave him a pack of Gold Darts.

[Wuluf]

Very sorry to hear this. Thanks for posting the great pics on this thread.

[paddln4reds]

OHHH...I'm so sad to hear this news. I had met him through here and in one of the early tournaments. I didn't know him real well, but we'd always stop and chat when we ran into each other in DB. I always thought of him as a very nice person! My deepest sympathy to his family and friends.

[Todd]

Very nice representation from the paddle-fishing community to say goodbye to a dear friend of all. From me personally, I lost a great friend and a fishing buddy. I know they say life goes on but there will be a void moving forward.

Nice to see everyone and his wife Carla sincerely appreciated everyone who showed up to pay their respects.

And yes, front and center amongst the flowers and pictures was a pack of gold darts.

Godspeed my friend you will be missed.

[TerryW]

It was very nice seeing the paddle-fishing.com crowd, even if the circumstances totally stunk. The Patriot Guard Riders paid Mark a well-deserved honor. It was something to see so many of them lining the walkway as everyone entered. Mark's "bike" took front and center during the memorial service. I don't think there was a dry eye as some family and friends spoke. So sad to see such a truly good guy gone so too soon.

[Heywood]

"Jack Pot"

[DaveR]

Pretty big lump in the throat when I turned the corner and saw The Patriot Guards. A great send off for a great guy.

[Norm]

Yesterday was a true testimony to the pure "goodness" of a person...just the fact that so many people from so many walks of life came out to pay homage to a single man was awe inspiring alone....Mark, while I knew him pretty well, it wasn't as well or as close as some of the others here.

I had conversed with him recently about his interest in buying a gun I was selling. I had some time to chat with him, and while I didn't want to be overly dramatic about his condition, I wanted to know where he was with it mentally. You pick up quickly he is not to type to burden others with his situation, but seemed to be okay and was taking things on a day by day basis. We talked about getting together to go plinking with our guns at a ranch he was a caretaker of. Unfortunately we never got to do that.

Look at us! We as fishermen.... we share a commonality of our love of the outdoors in general, but fishing in particular, and if you want to narrow it down more...from a floating piece of plastic no less. And yet we are also diverse as the world around us...hooray for that! I love the camaraderie and the fun...but most of all, I enjoy seeing the care we have for each other.

This should be a time that we should all take a few moments and reflect on ourselves and where we are in life and the effect we may have on others. In the last 4 years we have lost three of our kindred souls from here....ALL way too young, vital, and an important parts of our group. We are not guaranteed tomorrow...so take a moment for Jay, Mark(Cooknfish), and MarkM...thank them for what they meant to you...than take that back to your family...hug your wife a little closer, kiss your kids, and try your best to be the best we can be for those we care about most. Plan for the future...but live each day to the fullest!

[John]

A great send off for a great guy.

I had hoped to speak at the service but it didn't work out, but I would like to share my thoughts here with you all.



I probably don't know Mark as well or for as long as a lot of the people here, and there is likely nothing I can say about Mark that you do not already know. For Mark was the same person to everyone that knew him, that quiet, unassuming, smiling, honest and loyal guy.

All I can do is share with you what Mark meant to me

I, met Mark through the sport of fishing, later we became friends and eventually co-workers.

Mark sub-contracted for the company where I am the project manager. His work, was a true reflection of his own personality thoughtful, diligent, reliable and of the highest calibre.

Mark was a man who knew the value of things, not the cost of material items, but the value of the things that truly matter.

He knew the value of honesty, of hard work, of honor, the value of fun, of family and of friendship, he valued highly this great country and especially those who served it, he valued patriotism and he knew the value of showing it.

Above all these he knew the value of life and of love. He was a lucky man to have found the love of his wonderful wife Carla and he certainly knew the value of that.

A few years ago when Mark and Carla were first dating, I received a text from Mark, while on my way to work, nothing unusual about that, as he would text me most mornings about the work day ahead.

But this text was a little different from his usual message and I was more than a little surprised when I read it.

"Good morning my beautiful sweetheart, I wish I was waking up next to you this morning, instead of waking up and going to work"

Obviously, the text was meant for Carla and not for me, but it showed me that Mark, also knew the value of romance. ツ

We joked about that for many years, and to this day it's still the best work text I've ever received



To close, I've taken some artistic liberty and re-written a well known verse by Mary Elizabeth Frye



Do not stand by my grave and weep,
For I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am the spots on backs of Trout
The falling tide, that rushes out

I am the Tarpon's silver scale,
The hint of blue, on a Redfish tail

I am the pop, of a hungry Snook
I am the fish, that spits your hook

When you awake before the sun,
Filled with hope for the day to come
With dreams of fish to catch all day
I am the one, that got away

Do not stand at his grave and cry,
He is not there; he did not die.


Rest in peace my friend

[Tide1on]

Absolutely excellent work John on the re-writing that great verse!

[Skeeter]

It was a very thoughtful service and seeing the Patriot Guards paying their respects made it even more impressive. I sat there listing to Marks friends and relatives speak, and I thought of the times and places we had fished together. Double Branch, Safety Harbor, The Fort, Miguel, Cockroach, Manatee, Flamingo, Chockolowski, and almost a Canadian fly in, but that one didn't work out for me.
Mark was loved and respected by everyone that knew him, and I am very thankful he was fortunate to meet someone like Carla when he did. At first my thoughts were that its very sad that they only had a few years together. But as I watched them together after he was moved to Hospice, I realized they were both blessed with a gift that some people never find in a lifetime.
Mark was a great man. I will think of him often, and I am privileged to have known him.

[TerryW]

I appreciated reading the comments about Mark. What a memorable re-do of Frye's verse, John. Hopefully, someone will share all of this with Carla. My heart just hurts for her.

[americanrobster]

Very sad news.

While I never met Mark in person, he was a great guy who I learned alot from just by reading his posts.