Mark died September 27, 2013, while making a training jump on to a field near Prairie, Idaho, about 45 miles east of Boise. He was a 10-year jumper with 324 jumps including 102 fire jumps.

Mark received a degree in Building Materials and Wood Technology from the University of Massachusetts and served in the Air National Guard from 1991-1997.

He began his career as a wildland firefighter in 1999 with the U.S. Forest Service joining the BLM Great Basin Smokejumpers in 2003. He was an avid bicyclist and contributor to the Boise Bicycle Project. Mark is survived by his wife, Rebecca.