His funeral will be Friday, Oct. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Eagle Lake Lutheran Church, 15456 Co. Hwy 81, rural Battle Lake. There will be visitation at the church one hour prior to the service. Burial will take place at a later date.

Mark was born March 3, 1956, and welcomed into the family of Kenneth and Lois Carlson of Elbow Lake. The family moved to Cokato when Mark was 7, and he graduated from Dassel-Cokato High School in 1974.

Mark attended the University of Morris, majoring in physics and chemistry. He moved to Fargo, ND, where he lived the rest of his life.

Every summer was spent at the family cabin on Eagle Lake, with his family, relatives from California and Texas, and friends.

Mark loved fixing things, and had to know how everything worked. When only in grade school, he dissected numerous appliances, including the family toaster, and read the whole Encyclopedia Britannica.

He loved shooting off rockets in the neighborhood lot, loved photography and had his own photography lab in the basement, and enjoyed being the lights and stagehand for high school plays.

When younger, many Saturday mornings were spent watching cartoons with his sister, Julie; “Mission Impossible” with the family; and “Lawrence Welk” with his grandpa and grandma.

Mark truly enjoyed volunteering his time with the Civil Air Patrol, and also the Salvation Army, working with the Salvation Army up until the day he passed away.

Mark never married or had children. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lois, and father, Kenneth.

He is survived by his sister, Julie Rettig; nephew Ryan (Laura) Rettig; and several aunts.