Our minibike guru gone?
- Thread starter minibikefever
- Start date
This is so sad, and so sudden! I was in complete shock when I heard the news yesterday. What a bummer, he will be missed by all for sure. He had so much knowledge and was willing to share with anyone. And what a sense of humor! We had a friendly competition going on for years with the advertising thread and just last week I sent him a tool that had his last name on it with a cool logo. Didn't tell him what it was, just sent it as a surprise and we were messaging about it on Friday morning. He seemed stoked and told me he'd use it on his paint jobs in the future.
My condolences to his family
My condolences to his family
I’ve been reading all the comments and it’s so heartwarming to see how many people love him as much as I do. What kindness and generosity you saw through the forum was how he lived his life. He always helped our neighbors, from fixing their lawn mowers to putting a new engine on a boat. There was no end to his generosity.
He was self taught…everything he knew he learned on his own. His mom told me that as a child, he would constantly take all his toys apart because he wanted to see how they worked. His dad would get so upset! He was an automotive technician before he started working solely on small engines repair and restoration.
I forwarded this thread to Mark’s family so they could see everyone’s posts. His sister Holly asked if I could post a message from the family:
Good morning. We just finished reading all the beautiful posts about Mark on the minibike group. We are so touched by the the kind words and tributes to Mark. Although not surprised by his knowledge or generosity, but it is so heart warming to see how many people he helped over the years and how respected he was. He was self taught and so intelligent, and for me was the best brother a girl could ever ask for. His sense of humor and kindness is what I will miss most. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
Good morning. We just finished reading all the beautiful posts about Mark on the minibike group. We are so touched by the the kind words and tributes to Mark. Although not surprised by his knowledge or generosity, but it is so heart warming to see how many people he helped over the years and how respected he was. He was self taught and so intelligent, and for me was the best brother a girl could ever ask for. His sense of humor and kindness is what I will miss most. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
Though I respected Markus immensely, I did not have the opportunity to forge as strong of a relationship as many of our members have. That said, beyond his vast knowledge and generosity he taught me a valuable life lesson.. be passionate about whichever path you choose within our limited time here.
Thank you Markus … and God bless your family and friends.
Thank you Markus … and God bless your family and friends.
I found out about Mark from a Facebook friend just after noon on the 28th. I was friends with Mark on Facebook so I went to see if there was anything posted from his family on his page. I decided to contact his wife Alise to confirm the news and was saddened to learn that it was true. After a short conversation I let her know that we would all be there to help if she needed and that although Mark and I never spoke on the phone we did message here and on Facebook. Mark had lots of knowledge and the two of us would have an unwritten competition as to who could identify a bike first in the "What is it" section here. I think we both enjoyed collecting and researching all the old mini bike brochures, ads and manuals we could find and then sharing that information and helping people identify their recent purchases. I would always enjoy learning new things from him and often saved brochure images that he posted into my library of mini bike photos. I think we were both alike in the way that we both became immersed into researching anything mini bike related and learned as much as we could from all the vintage paperwork, magazines and internet searches. I think many of us learned a lot from Mark and will keep any knowledge that he shared with us and will continue to help others as he did so much. I only wish that I could have met him in person. Alise messaged me earlier today and she was preparing for the storm since she is in the direct path and that she may lose cell service and power. As Karen said she is very appreciative of all of these posts here and it has helped her immensely through the week.
Thank you so much for all the kind words. I love the memory of you having an unspoken competition…that sounds just like something Mark would do. He used to challenge me with trivia…mostly movie lines which he would win every single time. Sometimes he gave hints but mostly just made fun of me when I was wrong!
I have prepared as best as I can here to protect our home. Mark’s brother in law and our neighbor helped me get the windows covered and the front door boarded up. During Ian it almost blew off the hinges, so I didn’t want to take any chances. I’m going to stay with my neighbors during the storm so I won’t be alone here with our dog. Our neighbor has a new roof, impact windows and sits higher than most homes in our area. They are two streets over so I will be able to get back home. I appreciate everyone’s care and support…this has been so hard. Hopefully I will be able to touch base after the storm if we don’t lose cell service. Last time it took a couple of days to get temp cell towers in place.
I have prepared as best as I can here to protect our home. Mark’s brother in law and our neighbor helped me get the windows covered and the front door boarded up. During Ian it almost blew off the hinges, so I didn’t want to take any chances. I’m going to stay with my neighbors during the storm so I won’t be alone here with our dog. Our neighbor has a new roof, impact windows and sits higher than most homes in our area. They are two streets over so I will be able to get back home. I appreciate everyone’s care and support…this has been so hard. Hopefully I will be able to touch base after the storm if we don’t lose cell service. Last time it took a couple of days to get temp cell towers in place.
