If this is a duplicate submission, I apologize. I was uncertain if it posted here or not, but this is what I posted on my own timeline as a life event. It is not often that you meet someone like Mark. He touched the heart of every person he met by filling it with such joy, wonder, and fun! His smile was infectious and his voice was infused with mirth and just a hint of impetuous youth and impish delights. He was so much more than a story teller. He was a loving husband and father. He was an author, a song writer, a musician, a magician. But, far beyond any of that he was a wizard, a pirate, a sorcerer, a child, a fairy, a tree, or whatever he could imagine himself to be. He could live in the present or hop in a time machine to visit the past or the future. He stretched and exercised our imagination muscles and taught us to be free of any boundaries of the mind. He encouraged, sympathized, empathized, and advised. He was intelligent but, never would talk down to anyone. You could not hear him read, watch him perform, or sit in his classroom without instantly having him become a part of you. This sweet, extraordinary, talented, and loving man will be missed by so many. If you knew him for a day, you knew him for a life time. I will never forget you Mark. From the first moment Colleen began to tell me about this wonderful man she met and was going to marry I knew you were something special. I just had no idea how special. Thank you for a life of giving and sharing with others but, most of all, for loving my dear friend, Colleen and giving her a marriage filled with unending love and raising two beautiful daughters who have grown up learning to emulate you both.