Dear Sally,

I recently learned of Mark’s passing.  I was a close friend of his during our childhood and teenage years. My deepest condolences to you. Justin, Nathaniel, and your family.

I don’t know if Mark spoke much about his early years in Michigan so I thought I would share some memories.

Mark was about 7 or 8 at the time he moved to Benton Harbor, after his father was appointed to be the minister at the Congregational Church.  I met Mark playing together on the “Congo” church league basketball team, and YES, he was our best player.  My mother was a part-time secretary for the associate minister so our families became close.  Mark’s father was a great minister and loved by all.  We were all shocked and saddened at his sudden death.  Mark’s mother decided to stay in Benton Harbor, and they moved to a house two blocks away.  We were in the same sixth grade class, again playing church league and school basketball together, and became best friends.  He had a hoop in the driveway so we played basketball, football in the yard, wiffle ball, made up our own games, or played with his beagle puppy Matey that they got in the spring of 1959.  After my father died the following year, our families became very close, often sharing meals and activities.  Mark’s mother could not drive so my mom drove us around.  One Thanksgiving the six of us (my brother and I, Mark, Susan, and our moms) piled into their Plymouth Fury to drive out to Sparta, Wisconsin to visit our former associate minister, who then was a minister there. My first road trip, we had a great time.

Throughout high school we remained best friends, within a circle of friends who loved sports.  Mark introduced us to tennis; many of us became members of the high school team where I was second singles to Mark’s first singles.  I have to admit we were not the best in the district but we had great fun.  In his senior year Mark had a dilemma: to try out for the high school basketball team (we won the state championship the prior year and were ranked number one again-We Won) or to listen to the music director who wanted him to be a part of the elaborate musicals (My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, etc.) that the school performed each year.  That time, music won out over sports, and Mark played Lieutenant Cable in South Pacific.

When we all got our drivers’ licenses, we would often get together before going out together or after dates.  It was always at the Hamilton household where we were welcomed by his mother and Susan.  We never got into trouble or did any serious mischief, except once.  Though we were all decent students and never cut classes, nine of us decided we would skip one day of school in the last week of our senior year.  We set up a morning tennis tournament (brackets and seeds) and then spent the afternoon at the beach.  All in all we had a great, fun day.  We got caught, a not too difficult task as of the 12 absentees that day from a senior class of over 550 the nine of us were known associates.  The school administration was rather upset.  Not only did they force us to sit for eight hours after class on a bench in the principal’s office (I always refer to it as the group W bench) but they threatened to ban us from the senior award ceremony, a ceremony in which some of us received scholarships, and Mark was due to receive a prestigious Citizenship and Leadership award. Mark was so highly regarded that a number of parents called the school to protest. In the end, we did attend and Mark received his leadership award, which was so well deserved.

After high school we did drift apart, and the family moved back to the Boston area. I visited him one night his freshman year at Elmurst and after our sophomore year when I was living in DC, I decided to take the train to visit them, if I remember correctly an apartment at 55 Washington St. in West Roxbury.  It was like no time had passed, as we hung out for a few days, goofing around and searching for his summer job. The last time I saw Mark was when he came back to Benton Harbor for our friend Bob Contreras’ wedding in 1968. 

Over the years some of us have been together, mostly at school reunions.  We naturally reminisce about the good old days and the fun we all had together.  Several years ago six of us were together on Cape Cod and we decided it was time to find Mark and surprise him.  The plan was to show up, in the first pew if possible, for his Sunday sermon.  Unfortunately, it never happened as a little research revealed that you were in Florida at that time. 

I am happy, but not surprised, to know that he became the wonderful adult that we all knew he would be.  Although it saddens me that we didn’t reconnect in these later years, it warms my heart to know that his love of life, compassion, and concern for others remained a constant force. We are all fortunate to have known him and to be his friends.

Dean Johnston