Mark Charles Masur

Mark Charles Masur was born on March 17, 1954 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

He grew up in an Air Force family, from which he gained a love of adventure and of speed. He will be remembered for his captivating grin, big-picture wisdom, and sense of mischief and fun.

The son of Marvin Charles Masur and Dorothea Bucceri Masur, Mark lived in New Mexico, Guam, Montana, Germany, Oregon, and Utah before reaching adulthood. Mark earned the ranks of Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow, and led the family into the exciting activities that grew to define the Masurs.

He graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in Ogden, Utah, then went on to Weber State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He continued his studies at Denver University, earning a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Mark worked in Denver, Connecticut, and New York before settling in Dallas, Texas to pursue his career in venture capital. He bought his prior Interfirst Bank portfolio from the FDIC to form Silver Creek Technology Ventures, where he continued investing for almost 40 years, in such companies as Xilinx, ProNet, Alteon WebSystems, and Talari Networks, which was purchased by Oracle in 2018.

In 1990, he married Jolene Cox Masur, and loved her fiercely until the day he died. Mark and Jolene maintained homes, friends, and family in Dallas, Texas and Sun Valley, Idaho.

One of Mark’s organizing guidelines is “Just say ‘yes’.” He loved all things outdoors: skiing and other winter sports, sailing, hiking, bicycling, shooting, snowmobiling, and racing his Porsche 911. He owned and campaigned various sailboats, including the J105 Two Feathers, which was a fixture in the New England and Texas racing circuits. He participated in many national and international J105 sailing championships, always under the flag of Texas. He and Jolene loved to cruise sailboats in the waters of the Caribbean and East Coast. He belonged to the Fort Worth Yacht Club and was an avid masters ski racer who continued racing for more than 30 years through 2023. Mark loved going fast and mastered everything he touched, in business, on land, on water, or on snow, and always capped it off with beer out of a green bottle.

He died on June 15 in Dallas, Texas.

Mark is survived by an extended family on both sides of his marriage: wife, Jolene Masur; brothers, Hoyt and Steven Masur, sister, Lani Johnson; nieces Emma Allen, Megan Masur, Nysa and Nicole Williams; grand-nieces Amelia and Adelin Moag; mother-in-law, Laverne Cox, brother-in-law Steven Cox, sister-in-law Yvette Ball and her husband, Michael; and beloved pet Joey.

The Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home followed by interment in Hillcrest Memorial Park.