Dec. 17, 1938
– June 26, 2024
Mark was always very proud of the fact he was conceived in his parents’ home town of Conway, Missouri. He was actually born after his parents made the incredible trek from Conway to Cochrane, AB in order to expand the amount of farmland they could own.
There was a nine-year gap in age between Mark and his older brothers and sisters, two years after Mark’s arrival his younger brother Ron was born.
At a very early age Mark showed an interest in farming, much to the consternation of his older brothers who were horrified when the two-year-old Mark insisted on closely watching them grind grain in one of the buildings. Apparently, Mark would not stay away so one of his brothers, fearing for Mark’s safety, scooped him up, put him in a burlap sack and hung him on a nail on the wall!
On another occasion when he was determined to ‘help’ his older brothers, one of them told him to close his eyes and hold out his hands. Rather than putting a pleasant surprise in his hands, they filled his eager little hands with newborn mice! Needless to say, Mark had a fear of mice for the rest of his life!
Once he was old enough, Mark started to help his father around the farm. By this time his older brothers had enlisted for World War II so Mark’s help was really needed to assist his dad in running the farm.
Much of the farmwork was done with horses, which were a staple part of most farms in those days. Mark always had vivid recollections of a sultry day in late July when his dad was in the process of unhitching a four-horse team who had been working all afternoon. Mark was holding the lead horses and suddenly there was an enormous flash of lightning and a deafening bang. Mark was shaken up. One horse was dead and his dad was flat on the ground but thankfully OK.
Mark continued to help his father on the farm. As he got older he took on more and more responsibility. When he graduated from high school he was basically in charge of looking after the farm needs as his father was now feeling the effects of old age. Tractors were replacing horses and Mark soon became very adept at fixing every mechanical ailment.
Mark married in his twenties and he and his wife Helen raised four children: two boys and two girls. Unfortunately, after 20 years he and his wife parted and the two boys stayed on the farm to help their dad.
Mark had purchased an additional quarter of land several miles north of his regular farm. Little did he know this would shape his future in an unexpected way. One Sunday he decided to disc part of the land he had purchased and apparently extended his discing to the next quarter with the permission of the land owner. However, the land was rented by a rather feisty female, who on hearing a tractor went to investigate. The second she saw what was happening she was urging her horse towards the tractor. (She had been riding at the time.) Mark stopped and stepped out of the tractor, then the tirade began. He was told in no uncertain terms to get off the land, in the meantime he was protesting the landlord had given permission. The irate female returned to her farm after he left and was totally astonished when two days later Mark showed up in her yard. He was very polite and asked if she (Jill) would go to the Calgary Stampede with him. That was 40 years ago and this July they would have been married 37 years.
Frustrated with the price of land in Cochrane and his inability to expand, Mark started looking for parcels of land in other parts of the province. In 1994, he purchased land north of Snipe Lake and told his wife (Jill ) he was moving north. Fortunately, despite the somewhat hasty decision his move went smoothly and Jill sold her land a year later and moved north to join him.
The next 23 years were spent farming in the Snipe Lake region.
In 2018, Mark called Ritchie Bros. and they sold cattle, equipment and land except for a small portion of land to live on. At this point he was looking forward to a well-deserved retirement. However, illness struck and in 2019 he was hospitalized and subsequently admitted to South Valley Nursing home in Valleyview. In 2023, he was transferred to J.B. Wood Extended Care in High Prairie where he received incredible care until his death in June.
Mark is survived by: his wife Jill; his two daughters Beryl (Mike) Larson and Golda Schellenberg (nee Warner); his son Wayne (Judy) and stepdaughter Sandra (Phil Walters).
His brother Ron is now the lone survivor of Mark’s siblings.
He had 11 grandchildren: Wyatt, Cody, and Charli Anne Larson; Cole, Brant and Meikel Schellenberg; Nola and Nova Warner; and Heather, Harry and Sarah Walters.
There are four great-grandchildren: Colton, Jaxton, Jasper and Tate.
Mark was predeceased by: his son Eldon; son-in-law Dan Schellenberg; mother Eva Lou Warner and father Roy Golden Warner; his sisters Norma (Burris), Martha Mae (Hubbard); his brothers George, Bill, Burrell and Nova.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday July 13, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. in the High Prairie Legion Hall at 4721 – 51 Avenue. Friends and acquaintances are invited to join the family in sharing stories of their encounters with Mark.
His remains will be buried in the Sunset House Cemetery at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, July 14. The cemetery is located on Range Road 200 in Big Lakes County by Sunset House.