I thank each of you who was able to come here today in memory of Marcus. He is with God and can no longer feel any of the pains of our mortal lives. I take comfort in knowing that one day I’ll be with Mark again, but I miss him more than words can ever express. As I was comforting Darin a few days ago, I told him that the time until we are together again is just an instant for Mark now though it will seem like forever to us but to think of it like Christmas when they were little. We opened one gift on Christmas eve and the rest had to wait until Christmas morning. For a little person, that was an eternity, all those beautiful packages waiting to be opened, the anticipation of the treasures contained inside but for us adults, the time wasn’t long enough to get everything done. So Mark is like the parent now, the time fleeting and we’re like the little ones, eyes are filled with wonderment and hearts with expectation but facing a long, long night until that magical morning.
Even when Mark entered this world, he was considerate. He was born at 3:10 on a Thursday afternoon. Because it was past the doctor’s due date, I was already scheduled to check into the hospital so when I got there shortly after noon, my room was already waiting for me. No one could ask for a more considerate arrival than that! He slept through the night from the first night home, only cried when he needed fed or changed. He was an absolute angel of a child.
He was also a bit of con artist. When he was little, he used to come up to me with that sweet smile and sparkling eyes and say, "Mommy, you’re pretty........can I have a cookie?" Of course, when he got closer to school age, it changed to "Mom," but he always used that mischievous smile of his to further his cause. You know the one I mean.
Marcus has always been one of the most considerate people I’ve known and it sure has been wonderful to call him my son. A little more than 25 years ago, God entrusted Mark to my care and it’s been a trust that has brought enormous joy and happiness. Each of you has been on the receiving end of his gentle humor and have also been recipients of his thoughtfulness. Some of you have even been partners in some things that Moms might frown upon, like the filming of the car scene at Vancouver Lake. Mark and two very good friends took up skydiving, another "Make Mom Nervous" activity. He loved his scuba diving and looked forward to someday going to the Great Barrier Reef. And for some unknown reason, he wanted to do more bungee jumping! But, probably, the most concerning activity was his motorcycle. Those of you who have been around him the last few years know who much he loved his motorcycle but this mom was very happy when he bought his car for primary transportation last fall. That’s a mom thing you know!
The nursery rhyme says, Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s child has far to go. I am a Wednesday child and Mark is a Thursday child. He did have far to go and was living life to the fullest. He loved the theater, it was his passion. He wanted to try everything in life and was able to accomplish a lot in his short time here. Last fall, he started making plans to go to Sweden; I found a note entitled "To Marcus, the man with the plan from Sidekick Girl" outlining everything needed for the trip. In high school, he took German, Russian at Clark and learned key phrases in several more languages. It helped him in his acting career but also was preparing him for traveling in Europe.
Mark’s life was filled with thoughtful and caring things he did for other people. One of my most wonderful memories was of my birthday when he was little. It was a beautiful sunny day; he had asked to go to a dear friend’s house. I was sitting on our front steps when he came home. With one hand hidden behind his back, he came through the front gate, closed the gate, with that special smile of his walked up to me and brought his hand from behind his back and radiantly and proudly presented me with a bouquet of daisies and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom." With Carole’s help, he had lovingly picked every daisy knowing how happy it would make me.
The last few weeks of his life, Mark had been searching very hard and Saturday morning at 7:10, he came to my bedroom door and said, "Mom." I asked him, "What is it Mark?" He said, "I found God." Of course, I got up immediately and hugged him and told him how glad I was and we talked a bit about it. I used to think "I love you" were the three most beautiful words to hear from another person but I now know they are second.
My last memory of Marcus is as I left the house Saturday morning. Before I went out the door, I stopped and said, "I love you." He told me, "And I love you, Mom."
We have taken some clips from some of Mark’s resume tapes which are typical of Mark. I hope you enjoy them. We will have a public sharing time and I hope you will feel comfortable sharing a Mark story, there are lots of them.
Even if you don’t tell a Mark story today, please share things with me later. Mark is with each of us who knew him and I’m going to need you to help me through the time ahead. Please leave your name, current address and phone number so I can contact you later and feel free to contact me.
Mark would now give me that "Now, Mom" look and have something touching and funny to say but I can only say, all I have of Mark now is my memories and I’m counting on you to keep his memory alive and add more memories to my own with your Mark stories.