I remember;

• the sundaes we shared at friendly's,
• the pies we shared at my parent's and mark's house,
• the gang of 5 - mark, Gerald St.Marie, Walter Gwisc, Tim Durkin, And I.

• the innocent trouble we got into;
• putting the french teacher's beetle car on a low roof at holy trinity high,
• experimenting with low intensity explosives in chemistry class -perhaps not as innocent!!!
• listening to the world series while in class,
• shaving  cream fights in the dorm halls at catholic university,
• Friday beer nights at hap's in b land, and
• rappelling on the buildings at catholic university.

    Through it all we were all defining who we were to become.

    Mark, I believe, determined his life's work in computers in those years.  He and I took my father's courses in wiring computers while in high school and we built a computer together for our senior high school science project.  Through all the years in high school, he was the de facto leader of our merry  band.

    We both chose to become electrical engineers.    Mark, with his intuitive grasp of mathematics succeeded.  There was many a time he tried to explain to me math and physics, but it was beyond my comprehension so I became a civil engineer.  Structural design I could understand, so we parted company.  Mark to finish at catholic university while I moved on to the University of Detroit.

    Through these 6 years together, he became what I considered a "best friend".

    Our respective weddings we both enjoyed and the birth of our children. In Mark's case, after much soul searching since deafness ran in his family.  To a large extent, we were both kindred spirits.  He had an avid interest in other religions, meditation, pyramid power - a seeker of truth.  We both had firm beliefs in another dimension where our essence, or soul, would one day be.

    Little did I think, in these days of increased longevity, that Mark's days were numbered.  Recently I read a book entitled "the soul's code'.  In it the author discussed that each of us has a purpose to find and fulfill in this physical life.  I believe that mark fulfilled his in many ways.  Some of us get to fulfill our destiny earlier than others.

    Yes, I will miss Mark very much. 

    I mourn his passing, but he has left a web of interconnection that is his legacy.

    It will continue to support  and enrich us all!!!!