Mark Thomas Trifiro

Mark Thomas Trifiro died peacefully and gently January 22nd after a long battle with myelofibrosis. He was born to Warren and Virginia Trifiro in Aurora, IL, but the family moved to Atlanta, GA, when he was a few years old. As a small child, Mark was a part of the Atlanta Boy Choir, which he enjoyed immensely. He travelled the world with the group and maintained his love of music throughout his life.

As a teen he attended Marist High School, which sparked his curiosity and love of learning. He went on to attend Yale University, where he majored in psychology. He loved rowing crew during his time there, and his team won the Head of the Charles Regatta in his sophomore year.

He started his career in telecommunications with Bell South. He met Cathy soon after, and they had two beloved daughters, Ausley and Henny. Mark was an exceptionally loving and accepting father, and his daughters adored him.

The family moved to Austin, and not long after Mark decided to attend nursing school. As a nurse, he worked on the oncology floor. During his illness, when nurses in the hospital asked him about himself, he laughingly told them that nursing hadn’t been for him because he couldn’t multi-task – he could only mono-task.

He returned to telecommunications as a Network Engineer at the University of Texas. But Mark’s work life was far from the most interesting thing about him. He was a Renaissance man, curious about everything. He was a voracious reader and over the course of his life amassed a collection of books that could rival a library. His collection reflected the depth of his interests in history; religions of the world; politics; mysteries; and dream interpretation, especially Carl Jung.

Most meaningful was the development of his spiritual life. He attended the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest where he completed a Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction, which led to a

two-year study of Carl Jung’s dream work at the Haden Institute. Sadly, he didn’t get to serve as a spiritual director as he had planned, but he brought kindness and wisdom to all of his relationships.

Mark was that rarity, a humble intellectual. He was a thoughtful man, in every sense of the word.

He is survived by his daughters Anne Ausley and Virginia Helen Trifiro, his ex-wife and dear friend Cathy Trifiro, and his sisters Paula Wetherington (Chuck), Sheila Kirichenko (Walter), Sandra Trifiro, Melissa Trifiro, and Maria Leberre (Daniel).