My brother, Mark R LeFevre, passed away in the morning hours of Thursday October 29th 2020. His passing was both expected and unexpected. Expected, because he has been grappling with multiple myeloma for more than 10 years, enduring such medical remedies as chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, and new drug trials. Unexpected because he seemed to be improving. He, and his siblings, were anticipating a visit planned for the day of his demise. Life is certainly uncertain. Below is his funeral program, or more exactly the program for his graveside service. Large indoor gatherings are still frowned on in this part of the country.

Below is Mark's "Life Story," compiled by Karren. Undoubtedly Mark would take issue with several nuances, but on the whole, I think it is pretty well done.

Mark R. LeFevre was born March 17, 1951 in Safford, Az. He was the 1st child born to parents Reginald and Norma LeFevre. Norma had a son (Alan) from a previous marriage. The LeFevres set up housekeeping in Virden New Mexico where Dad was employed teaching math, biology, and coaching the sports teams. While they resided here Mark, & a sister (Karren) were born. When Virden School closed in 1955, the family moved to Phoenix, where they opened a soft-serve ice cream shop (Tastee Freez). One might think that attempting to sell ice cream in an oven like Phoenix would be a sure thing... but it wasn't. After two years everyone concerned agreed that the business had failed & Dad returned to coaching. The family moved to Patagonia in the fall of 1957, where a second sister (Laura) was born, completing the family. Mark attended the 1st grade at the Patagonia Elementary School. Mark's confident personality started at a young age. He came home from 1st grade and told mom they were going to have a play "The shoemaker and the elves." Mom ask him if wanted to be in the play, He said "I will be the shoemaker because I am best for the part." And he was chosen to play the shoemaker. In another incident that occurred around that time, mom bought a large chocolate bar, put it up out of sight in the cabinet for later. Mark came home from school, open the cupboard, and said, "Where the candy bar, I can smell it." He had a sensitive nose at a young age. The next year Dad augmented his teacher's salary by driving the school bus & the family moved to the end of the bus route in Canelo. For the next three years, Mark and Karren attended a 2-room school in Elgin, where they were taught by a husband & wife team, Mr. and Mrs. Snowden. (grades 1 through were combined and taught in one room, and grades 4 through 6 were taught in the other. Here Mark enjoyed listening to Mr. Snowden as he regaled his students with stories of his adventures as a fighter pilot during World War II. As an aside, Jim Smith, who later became Karren's husband, built the 2nd room on that school house. In the summer of 1961 the family moved back to Patagonia, where Mark and Karren graduated from Patagonia Elementary School, and then Patagonia Union High School. Mark excelled as an athlete & lettered in football, basketball, baseball, & track. He held the state shotput record for several years. In football he made all-state honorable mention his senior year. He was in the school band where he played the saxophone. He was selected to go to Boys State his senior year. He was in Honor Society, where he served as president for 2 years, and graduated as Valedictorian. During summers he worked for Robert Lenon, who was a mining and civil engineer and a surveyor. Mark worked in the field with him and quickly developed expertise in that field. Mark graduated from high school 1969, and then attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff where he majored in Forestry. He graduated from that institution in 1973. While in college, Mark became proficient in identifying plants, & went as far as collecting two species previously unknown in Arizona. He also started working in the logging industry and during several summers he was a member of the "hot shot" fire fighting crew based in Heber. Also of major importance, he met Susan Anderson at the LDS Institute. Susan invited him to the 1971 Lambda Delta Sigma Christmas formal & the laws of nature took over from there. They married Aug 3rd 1974. They continued living in Flagstaff, while Susan finished college and graduated in May 1975 Mysilvia, their 1st child was born Nov 1975. In Feb 1976 Mark, Susan and Mysilvia moved to Greer where Mark continued his logging business. In Nov 1977 they moved to Woodfuff, planning to stay 6 months. Life happens while we are making plans, & they still live there. Mark worked with Uncle LeGrande Turley in construction and acquired the nuances of that trade. For the next 30 years construction was one of his favorite hobbies, along with gardening. He always had a project, somewhere in Arizona, until the last few years. However, like the cobbler's children who never had shoes, his house was the last one to be worked on. Rebecca was born June 1978, then Thomas followed in short order in Nov 1979. They lived in a small rented house on the west side of the river until 1981 when they purchased land close to the Butte & moved a trailer onto it. In May 1982 Bradford was born & in May 1984 Amy was born. Emily followed in April 1987. Later, in Nov 1987, they purchased the land on which their current home is located. While living in this new home Susan's last pregnancy result in the surprise twins, Rachel and Julie. While in this new home Mark and Susan planted and tended prolific gardens each year. They canned the bulk of this produce and consumed it though out the year. Mark continued to learn about plants and how to improve their output. He was a walking encyclopedia on trees, plants, rocks, and fossils. The family turned to him for information on these topics, & I already miss his vast knowledge on so many topics. A major trauma and challenge in Mark and Susan's lives occurred the Day after Thanksgiving 2015. Mark, Mysilvia, Rachel, & Julie were home (Susan was in Utah taking care of Logan, while Amy was in the hospital), when a fire started outside and caught their winter woodpile on fire. It was a windy day with gusts around 40 miles per hours. With the wind and the heat of the woodpile the fire whipped though to the house and it was consumed in a very few minutes. They were able to get out with only the clothes on their backs. Miraculously no one was hurt. At least Susan had 2-3 changes of clothes with her. They lived in Charlotte and Sessel Allen's house for a year, while Mark, friends, extended family, and a contractor cleared the site. They rebuilt their current house where their previous house stood. Mark started working for Babbits Lumber Store in Holbrook 1981. He began in the Lumber yard, then moved up to foreman and worked there of for several years. This career came to an end in 1991 when Babbits Lumber yard closed their store in Holbrook/Winslow. He then ran a laundry mat in Winslow for a couple of years. In 1994, he returned to NAU, to obtain a teaching certificate. He spent this winter sleeping in his van and going home on weekends. Mysilvia was also a freshman at U of A during this time. Dad had a similar experience when he went back to school at BYU to obtain a certificate as a reading specialist. He attended and roomed with Alan during the 1968 school year. Mark completed his teaching certificate in 1995-1996 and substituted for a year in Holbrook. In 1997 he started teaching 7th grade science, which he did until April of 2011 when he retired. He spent 14 years as a formal teacher. Mom was a great baker, and we enjoyed her many goodies. We always had cookies and Mark loved cookies his whole life. In high school and college and after he was married, he often made cookies. He love them all, but his favorite was pineapple brown sugar cookies, in part because no one else particularly liked them and it was easier to keep a supply on hand. For every 10 batches of cookies he made, Susan probably made 100 batches. Mark and Alan both shared, a love for ice cream. One could always count on there being ice cream in Mark and Susan's freezer. Also very popular was soda and ice cream, we all have enjoyed many a float served at their dinning table. Over the years Mark's service in the Church included Gospel Doctrine Teacher, Primary Teacher, Elder Quorum President, High Priest Group Leader, and Bishopric Member. Mark and Susan's grandchildren started coming in 2003. They have Aiden, Kaitlyn, Logan, Zoie, Emma. As they got to be old enough to talk, Mark enjoyed playing with them, he made them marshmallow guns, rubber-band guns. Their memories will be of a white-bearded old grandpa. Mark enjoyed camping and being out in the woods, and forest. In his later years he would take time to teach the youngsters, all about trees, plants, mushrooms, rocks, fossils and nature in general. Corn on the cob roasts were also enjoyed, and Mark became known for bringing great tasting fresh corn from his garden. In the fall of 2009 Mark started having back pain which he ascribed to the reawakening of an old football injury. Physicians eventually discovered a crushed vertebrae in his lower back. This injury did not correlate with any known trauma. On Feb 4th 2010 he entered the Flagstaff hospital critically ill with pneumonia. It was during this stay that they diagnosed him with multiple myeloma. The prognosis was not good, as this cancer was thought to be suppressible but not curable. A long life was not predicted. Mark underwent chemotherapy in Flagstaff, Showlow and eventually in the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. After standard treatments lost their effectiveness, Mark participated in several experimental treatments testing new drugs. For 11 years he battled, but slowly the cancer advanced, and he departed for his eternal home in the morning hours of Oct 29, 2020. We will miss him and his treasure trove of knowledge

It has become standard operating procedure for me to press my camera into the hand of some unsuspecting (and sometimes unwilling) grandchild with the request that they shoot the remaining film. Given that it is a digital camera with more memory than was used to put a man on the moon... you get the picture. Sometimes the resulting images are professional, and other times, not so much. This time, they look pretty good. These are random photos juxtaposed to Mark's obituary printed in The Tribune, 11 November 2020.

Mark R LeFevre died on October 29, 2020 in Woodruff at the age of 69. A graveside service is scheduled at 1 PM on Thursday, November 12 at the Woodruff Cemetery. All are welcome to attend & celebrate Mark's life. Mark was born on March 17, 1951, in Safford to Reginald & Norma Allen LeFevre.

	He graduated from Northern Arizona University in 1973 with a degree in forestry. He later graduated from NAU with a degree in education.
He married Susan Anderson on August 3, 1974 in Manti Utah.

	Mark worked in logging, construction, & as a seventh grade teacher. He especially loved teaching his seventh grade science students.
Mark was an avid gardener and loved to spend time doing anything outside & used his exhaustive knowledge of plants often. He also enjoyed sharing his construction skills & knowledge.

He was a lifelong member of the LDS church & served in many callings.

Mark is survived by his wife Susan LeFevre; children Mysilvia, Rebecca, Thomas, Brad (Amanda), Amy (Blaine) Bushman, Emily (Sean) Whitehorn, and Rachel & Julie; siblings Alan Hatch, Karen LeFevre Laura (Fred) Zumwalt; grandchildren Aiden, Kaitlyn, Zoie, & Emma. He is preceded in death by his parents Reginald & Norma LeFevre; brother-in-law, Jim Smith, sisters-in-law, Barbara Hatch & Diane Hatch; & daughter-in-law, April LeFevre.