Mark Finley Harken

Mark Finley Harken, a beloved son, brother, grandson, and friend to many died on July 5, 2014, at the age of 20. Mark died while enjoying the Independence Day holiday weekend with family and a group of his closest friends in Tightwad, Mo. The car accident that claimed Mark also claimed his life-long friend, Clayton Miller. Four other young men were injured, and are recovering.

Mark was born April 5, 1994, in Overland Park, Kan., to Bruce and Sarah (Higgins) Harken, the eldest of three children. He attended Prairie Elementary School and Indian Hills Middle School before graduating from Shawnee Mission East High School in 2012. At the time of his death, he lived with his mother in Prairie Village, Kan., along with his brother and sister.

From the time he was a little boy, Mark had definite ideas about his likes and dislikes. As he matured, he developed passions and skills in several areas including pyrotechnics, woodworking, and barbeque. He spared no expense or effort, and loved sharing the fruits of his labors, treating family and friends to many delicious meals, beautiful hand-crafted wood items, and breathtaking fireworks displays, which he planned and executed with expert precision. Among his life goals was to become professionally trained in the art of making and displaying fireworks. The day before his death, he gifted family and friends with a private display so impressive that he was hired on the spot to create the homeowners’ association public display for 2015.

Mark was also an enthusiastic scout since his early childhood. Rising steadily through the ranks of Cub Scout Pack 3291 and Boy Scout Troop 91 of Village Presbyterian in Prairie Village, Mark earned his Eagle in 2012. He loved weekend campouts and working on merit badges, and counted a rigorous trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2010 among his most treasured experiences. Over the course of Mark’s many sessions at Bartle Scout Reservation in rural Missouri, he became a warrior of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, taking the name of Quick Scurrying Chipmunk. He was known in his troop for his skills at firebuilding and leadership of younger scouts. He was also a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow, and attended the National Order of the Arrorw Conference.

Mark’s adventurous spirit also led him to pursue spelunking, rock-climbing, and fishing. Mark also became an avid gardner, and turned a sizeable plot of his mother’s back yard into a garden containing several varieties of all kinds of vegetables. Other interests include working with metal, reptiles, jewelry making, and cooking. Mark was known for his seemingly boundless energy, his caring, generous heart, and his quick, contagious laugh. He had many, many friends who knew him as a gregarious sharp-dresser in a trademark bowtie.

In school, Mark’s ingenuity helped him overcome dyslexia to become accomplished in robotics and other hands-on sciences. In his senior year, he led his robotics build team, and coordinated much of their work. He took as many woodshop classes as he could. With the guidance of his teachers, father and grandfather, he became a skilled woodworker, making chairs, boxes, pens, cutting boards, and a variety of other beautiful items, which he generously gave as gifts. He was a top-ten finalist in Kansas City’s Project Lead the Way for a candy dispenser he designed and built, and received awards and ribbons at the 50th Annual Reserch and Development Forum 2012. He was chosen by SMEHS faculty and staff as the top senior Industrial Technology student, and received a special recognition at graduation. Also at SMEHS, he ran cross country, lettering his senior year. Each of his pursuits won him many good friends.

Mark attended the University of Kansas as a pre-engineering student, and Johnson County Community College before deciding to work full-time while he clarified his plans for the future. His employers knew him as a diligent, willing, and good-natured worker, who preferred a variety of tasks that employed both his mind and physical strength.

Mark is survived by his parents, Sarah Higgins of Prairie Village and Bruce and Amy Harken of Mattapoisett, Mass.; siblings Erik Harken and Claire Harken; grandparents Kathy and Tony Giordano of Overland Park, Kan., and Mary and Larry Gruenhagen of Greenville, S.C.; his intended, Jennifer Noble of Florida; uncles and aunts Brad and Heather Harken of Lanoka Harbor, N.J.; Brian and Angela Higgins of suburban Boston; and Jeannie and Carl Branzaru of Overland Park, Kan.; several cousins, and many other relatives.

Memorial contributions may be made to BSA Troop 91 for Philmont Camperships ( http://troop91.org/Mark_Harken_Memorial.html ) or the SMEHS robotics team ( http://smerobotics.com ).

The family has been deeply touched by all the love, support, and prayers shown for them by friends around the country. Their prayers are with the other five boys and their families.