Mark Vickery

Mark Vickery was a loving husband, son, brother and friend, People were drawn to his outgoing personality and love for life. Today his memory lives on in each and every one of us.

Mark’s story began on a hot summer day in 1960, in the charming town of Vicksburg, Michigan. Those were turbulent times in this country, as John F. Kennedy became President, and the Cold War and the Space Race continued to captivate our country. On August 25, 1960, Wayne and Marion (Simpson) Vickery celebrated the birth of a baby boy, a son they named Mark.

Mark was the middle of three children in the family’s Vicksburg home, joining his big sister Vickie and little sister Lorie. The Vickerys were a tight-knit clan growing up, and did much together. Mark was especially close to his dad, who enjoyed taking him down to the St. Joe River on Saturday mornings with his Uncle Bob and cousin Dennis, for some fun “male bonding” time on the riverbank.

Mark was all boy from a young age. He loved riding his bike around, popping wheelies and jumping it as high and as far as he could. Eventually he graduated to motorcycles, and rode his dirt bikes all the time. As he grew older he reverted back to a two seater go-cart.

Mark was a true “adrenaline junkie,” who was always racing, jumping, or playing. He loved playing sports with his many friends around the neighborhood, and in the summertime he enjoyed going water skiing or even jumping off the roof and into the swimming pool! The adults, naturally, frowned on his high-flying hijinks.

Mark attended Vicksburg Schools. He was well-liked by his classmates, played drums in the marching band, and ran on the cross-country team, too. Mark was always running, literally and figuratively, and was in constant motion all of his life.

After he graduated from Vicksburg in 1978, he found work at Portage Rapid Cut as a machinist, the first of several jobs he had over the years. He later worked at Sweet Manufacturing and Concept Manufacturing, before going to work for Allen Edwin Homes as a carpenter. Mark was very good with his hands, truly a jack of all trades, and could build just about anything without even looking at blueprints. It was a natural talent he inherited from his dad.

Mark’s personal life became even more interesting, however. In 1987, Mark reconnected with a former classmate named Sonda Foster. They didn’t really know each other back then, but were instantly attracted to each other and quickly realized how much they had in common.

The couple soon fell in love, and after a year of dating, they were married in Las Vegas on November 19, 1988, beginning many happy years together.

Mark and Sonda shared a beautiful marriage, and were truly the best of friends, as well. They enjoyed doing so many things together, from boating to canoeing to working on their cabin up north in Baldwin, which was such a wonderful getaway for them. They loved improving it and making it their own little paradise, adding decks, fire pits, and even a gazebo. The cabin was their favorite spot on the planet, and they shared so many great memories there with family and friends.

Mark, of course, had a multitude of good friends, and was loved by everyone he met. How could you not love him? A real jokester who loved to tease people in an endearing way. He was also very quick to lend a helping hand, and incredibly loyal to his friends, who returned in kind. “I got people,” Mark always said, and he certainly did. He especially loved getting together with his unofficial “Milwaukee Bests Club,” where the laughs rolled, and the tears (and drinks) always flowed.

While Mark and Sonda had no children of their own, Mark loved kids and they loved him right back. Sonda worked as a day care provider, and all the kids loved Mark, who was just a big kid, himself. His nieces and nephews all loved their Uncle Mark, too, who always made them laugh (he made everybody laugh).

Mark had many hobbies and interests, too, from going golfing, to racing his RC cars or hopping in his go-kart, and taking it full throttle. Whatever Mark did, he did full-throttle, though. He loved NASCAR, too, always rooting for the No. 6 car, Mark Martin. Mark was a strong man, physically and mentally.

Mark also enjoyed spending time with his good buddy Zack, the beloved black lab who was like his shadow around the house. Mark looked forward to coming home from work every day and walking him right at 5 p.m. (and so did Zack). Mark’s favorite times were after a hard day’s work, being with his loving wife Sonda and dog Zack, and a cold beer in his hand. Mark and Sonda also shared an amazing trip to the Cayman Islands one year, which was such a memorable adventure for them.

Mark enjoyed his work, and since he couldn’t stand still for very long, he lived to work. One day he hurt himself on the job in 2007, when the doctors discovered he had lung cancer. Mark kept his upbeat personality and sense of humor throughout his chemotherapy, and was determined to beat the disease, with the help of “his people.”

Mark eventually returned to work, but was later injured again in the fall of 2007. Even though he was in great pain in the final months of his life, Mark kept his sense of humor to the end. He died peacefully on Thursday, February 21, 2008, at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, with his family at his side. He was 47.

Mark was such a wonderful man, upbeat and energetic, funny and fun-loving. “I got people,” he always said, and he most certainly did. Mark was loved by everyone who knew him, as a loving husband, brother, uncle and friend. He was taken too soon, but his life was a gift to us, a gift we will cherish and remember forever. He will be greatly missed.

Funeral Services for Mark will be held at 2pm on Wednesday at the Vicksburg United Methodist Church. Members of his family include his wife Sonda: Mother Marion Vickery of Vicksburg, 2 sisters: Vickie Smittendorf of Vicksburg and Lorie and husband Freddie Mohlke of Arkansas, Sonda’s parents Bernie and Jan Foster of Vicksburg and many nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his father Wayne Vickery in 1993.

Please visit Mark’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can share a favorite memory or photo, sign his memory book or make a memorial donation in care of Sonda Vickery.