Mark Leonard Pence

Mark Leonard Pence, born July 28, 1955 in Dallas, passed away May 11, 2008 in Austin. He was predeceased by his parents; Leonard Pence and Peggy Gene Craig (Pence) and beloved second wife Kathryn Paul. He leaves to cherish his memory; his wife, Deborah Quisenberry Pence, son Christopher Shurr, daughter Jennifer Sheets and her husband Michael Sheets, and grandson Alexander Sheets. He will also be missed by many relatives and a diverse loving circle of friends including; his sister, Susan Anderson, nephew Ryan Anderson, niece Lacey Anderson, their father, Kevin Anderson, mother-in-law, Nell Quisenberry, brother-in-law, Brad Quisenberry, former mother-in-law Trudie Paul, aunt Gen Olfers, cousin Barbara Cofer, her children, friends Richard Eikenberg and wife Rebecca, Charles Edwards and wife Rimalda Allsup, Robert Barnes and wife Cathy. Mark graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Journalism and worked in the Houston area as a journalist for several years. After he moved back to Austin he worked for the Texas Legislature, graded GED essays, was a tutor at ACC, worked at Apple computer doing phone support and had a few temporary positions. He and Deborah were married in 2003 and he "inherited" two children or in his words from his blog: "My recent marriage to Deborah ushered two offspring into the family, Jennifer and Christopher. I do not believe I ever felt like either of my wife's two children were "step-" anything." Mark loved food, especially Indian food, a good cigar, fine, single malt whiskey and dark chocolate almost as well as he loved his family and friends. He loved movies and his favorite ones were directed by Alfred Hitchcock, especially "Vertigo." He also liked the "Godfather" series. He loved reading best of all and left a large, eclectic book collection. He often quoted the character Lennie Briscoe (from the television series, Law and Order) "Boy, I'd hate for somebody to trace me by what I read". He enjoyed watching most of the incarnations of the TV series "Law and Order" but he was especially fond of "Criminal Intent." He also enjoyed watching almost anything "Star Trek," "Monk," "Psych," and the fairly new series "Burn Notice." He called his enjoyment of the series "Nip/Tuck" one of his guilty pleasures. Deborah will miss their daily hour of "Jeopardy". The family wishes to express their appreciation to Dr. Punit Chadha and the staff at the South Austin Cancer Center. Special thanks to the Jeff and Marla Swett family and the Frank and Melissa Zidar family. Please join family and friends to celebrate his life at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar, Austin, TX 78705, Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 2:00 pm. Charitable donations in his memory may be made to The March of Dimes, Gilda's Club or the American Cancer Society. Amor numquam moritur – Love never dies.