Publisher’s Notebook: Mark Lee! You will be missed!

I am feeling my first true sense of loss in my new community. Arriving here two years ago the first person to reach out and get me involved in the community was Mark Lee. This past Monday Mark lost his physical battle with cancer but spiritually he won. Like his sports hero Muhammad Ali, Mark refused to stay down on the canvas. Battling this disease required many standing eight counts and Mark would answer the bell time and time again.

I first met Mark at the Frontiersman office. Our Circulation Administrator Christy Pinkerton work with Mark at one point in their careers. Christy’s work station is visible from my office. Mark entered the building that day two years ago. As he spoke to Christy he kept looking over his shoulder at me. Sensing he wanted to speak to me I introduced myself and we sat and talked for a good thirty minutes. Before that conversation was over Mark had me pledged to the Wasilla Sunrise Rotary Club and serving hot dogs at the Wasilla Mayor’s picnic on July 4th.

Mark loved being a Rotarian. He loved everything about it. For him Rotary was our way of being of service to our community. Mark was available for the hands-on work. He wasn’t bashful about picking up trash on highway beautification day. He wasn’t bashful about putting a garden tool in his hand and pitching in to build a park. He wasn’t bashful about being the only male at a meeting for No More Mat-Su and lending his presence to help end sexual assault and domestic violence in the Mat-Su. When it came to fundraisers Mark lead the way. Our club has an annual roses sell for Administrative Assistance Day. Our club purchases and sells hundreds of dozens of roses to businesses to help them recognize those who work tirelessly for them. Mark’s sells numbers were remarkable. I once bragged at a meeting that Mark and I sold 155 dozen of roses combined. Then I clarified Mark sold 150 and I sold 5… to myself. He was a tireless champion. There were many ways Mark impacted our community and I can’t wait to listen to his friends share their stories.

Our club, our community will miss Mark. We’ll miss his leadership, his ability to connect with us individually, his sense of humor but most of all his true love for each of us. I will miss his firm hand shake, with his signature ‘How are you buddy?’. I will miss his random phone calls. During the Sergeant of Arms period of our meetings Mark would get fined regularly and would pay generously. During Happy Bucks he never had a happy buck it was always a happy ten or a happy twenty. He was in love with his bride Chris. He loved his children and grandchildren. In that big heart of his there was always room for more. Mark’s loss will be felt personally by many in our community and indirectly by all. I cannot fit into this column the many ways he impacted the Mat-Su and Alaska.

His celebration of life will be held at the Palmer Ice Rink on Monday June 11th from 4 to 7pm. We’ll miss you Mark! Aarrgghh!