Mark Stanley Avey

Mark Stanley Avey was born at Queen of the Angels Hospital in Los Angeles, California on July 12, 1950. Mark was the second child of William and Juanita Avey, who 5 children in total.

The Avey family lineage came from a variety of good Christian stock. Mark’s great grandfather’s name was William Patrick Ryan and he hailed from Ireland. He was a hard-working miner who died in Butte, Montana at the age of 46. The Avey line way back in the 1700’s came from Germany. Those faithful people migrated to Switzerland and eventually on to Bedford County, Pennsylvania where they stayed for 2 generations. Since 90% of Bedford County, Pennsylvania was Amish at that time, it is believed Mark’s ancestors were as well. These were hardy, hard-working and faithful Christians.

On the other side of Mark’s family are the Sloans from Thayer, Missouri. These were hard-working farmers and store owners. That line has a touch of multiple races and creeds. Tracing the Sloan family back they also hailed from Ireland, but Mark also had some Cherokee Indian blood in him. That might explain why all of the Avey boys took to shooting arrows from restrung bows in the Avey backyard and garage when they were younger. You can see the pattern of Mark coming from hard-working stock. He followed that family tradition getting a job delivering handbills early in life, working all through high school and then on to military training.

Mark’s baby years were spent in Arcadia, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. After a short period of time, the young Avey family moved to 9007 McConnell Ave, Westchester, California, which is a very short distance from the Los Angeles International Airport. It was a loud childhood for Mark as planes took off and landed early in the morning until late at night. It was one thing when these were propeller planes in the mid-1950’s, but then Boeing came out with the 707-jet liner. Things really got loud then! As one of those jets took off, the noise was so loud, Mark and his friends would need to stop talking for about 30 seconds, then as the noise abated, they would just pick up the conversation where they left off. In the late 60’s long after the Avey family moved away, that housing subdivision was bulldozed to the ground due to the constant airport noise.

But living on McDonnell Ave, Mark and his brothers were rambunctious, energetic and got into their share of kid-trouble around the neighborhood. It was a typical early childhood of playing football and baseball in the street. Games were frequently interrupted with someone shouting, “CAR!” All of the boys would move out of the street until the car passed, then the game would resume.

One day as a pick-up football game was going, one friend who was playing quarterback told the other 4 players to – “Go long!” All the boys raced down the street and he launched a pass as far as he could. Mark was watching the ball and running full speed toward the sidewalk when BAM! He slammed right into the fender of a car that was parked on the street – right in our football field. Mark ended up going to the hospital and was on crutches for a month.

The Avey boys were educated at Visitation Elementary School, a Catholic School just a couple of blocks from their house. What Mark found out is that any infraction of school rules would be met with harsh punishment, such as a good swift wrap on the knuckles with a stiff wooden ruler. Mark decided it would be better just to obey the rules. That was great training for him when he went to boot camp years later. Those army sergeants were nothing compared to those nuns at Visitation School.

It was not the airport noise that drove Mark’s mom and dad to sell their house and move from Westchester. It was the fact that some of the kids on McConnell Ave and surrounding streets started getting into gangs and drugs. Mark’s father quit his good job at ATI and moved the family out to Simi Valley, which was a perfect place for young teenagers who needed space and more safety. The Avey home was in the middle of orange groves and walnut tree orchards. There were many play battles where Mark and his brothers would go out in the nearby orchards and throw oranges at each other. Yes, there were bruises and occasional short fights, but they did not last long. The pick-up football games continued, only now they were in open fields. One of the Avey neighbors was the Couch family. They had a huge backyard and owned 2 fast go-carts. Mark spent a fair amount of time over at the Couch home hoping to get a turn around the track on one of those.

Summers for Mark in Simi Valley were filled with all-day trips to the Tapo Canyon Country Club. The name of that facility was a total misnomer. It was nothing like a country club. There was no golf course or tennis courts. There was a pool and an outdoor basketball court and some picnic tables. But Mark had great fun up there swimming and seeing who could do the best cannonball or layout. Mark also joined his brothers taking their 22 rifles up into the foothills looking for places to target practice or maybe shoot at the occasional jack rabbit. No he never actually shot one.

Mark’s first car was a blue 1959 Chevy Impala. He was very proud of that car and relied on his older brother, Tim to help him keep it in top running shape. There were many fun times in that old classic. Mark did not always obey all the traffic laws, but unlike his brother, Tim, he did not get 12 tickets within 6 months and need a formal court appearance with his mother.

Mark met Linda Marie Austin at Simi Valley High School in 1966. They met at a school dance and Linda was there with another boy. Linda went to get a drink of water and Mark went up and asked her to dance. It basically was love at first site for both of them and soon they were inseparable; going on dates every weekend. Mark and Linda would double date with his younger brother, Steve and eventually both of them married their high school sweethearts.

Mark graduated from Simi Valley High in 1968 and immediately enlisted in the Army National Guard. Mark’s father, who had served in the Navy in WW II was very proud of his second son for joining the military. Mark decided to make the Army National Guard his life’s work. He was well-respected, worked hard and stayed out of trouble just like he was taught.

Being in the National Guard, Mark spent time in Ventura, California. Unfortunately, Mark and Linda could not have children, but they were incredibly blessed to be able to adopt two beautiful baby boys although 18 months apart. They were both 2 days old when they got them. First came Jeff followed by Doug. These boys were the joy of Mark and Linda’s lives and still are. After Ventura, Mark and Linda moved their two boys to Minden, Nevada, where they spent the next 7 years. Mark received a phone call from Carl Hopper inviting him to apply for a position for the Army National Guard at the Pentagon. Mark was delighted to apply for the position and was so grateful when he received it. The young Avey family was off to the Washington DC area in 1991.

It was a great situation back there because Linda also began working for the Army Civilian personnel at the Pentagon as well. Mark continued working for the National Guard until he retired after 30 years of service. He then went to work for ASM for several years, where he retired a second time.

On September 11, 2001 was a day no American will ever forget. Mark was working for ASM out in Fairfax, Virginia, when he heard the horrible news that a plane had hit the Pentagon. He was beside himself with worry not knowing if Linda had been injured or worse. After making several attempts to call her, Mark decided to drive to the Pentagon and find her himself. As you would expect Mark could not get to the Pentagon due to security. Mark spent the next 5 hours in excruciating agony not knowing if Linda was alive or not.

Mark was finally able to reach Linda by phone and determine that although it has been a close call, Linda was alive and uninjured. They were not able to unite until 4:00 that afternoon when Linda finally was able to get home. The story was that the plane hit the Pentagon just 50 yards from where Linda was standing. At first she was not sure if it was an explosion or another plane. Immediately there was a dramatic concussion of wind and debris that blew into the office Linda was in, followed by smoke and heat. The MPs started helping people evacuate the building. It was a very close call for Linda which caused real trauma to Mark and the Avey family. Soon after that Mark asked that Linda leave her position at the Pentagon.

Getting back to the family, it cannot be overemphasized enough how proud Mark was of his boys right up until his passing. He loved living close to them because they enjoyed boating and golfing together. Mark was a great father, supporting his boys and loving to spend time with them.

Mark was so proud of his son Jeff who is general manager of two restaurants and Avid fisherman and golfer. He was so happy to be able to share Jeff’s fishing accomplishments with friends and family. What father would not be proud of the fact that his son hit the CatfishNow Magazine cover with a whopping 85lb catfish?

Doug dated Ryan O’Toole and eventually they would have a little boy together. They named him Doug after his dad, but immediately he was known as Douggie. Oh how Mark and Linda loved their new grandchild! Doug, like Mark, is a great dad to his own son. Then 8 years later, Doug and Ryan had a beautiful baby girl whom they named Sophia. Again, Mark and Linda were delighted. Oh how they love those children.

Unfortunately, there were two factors that made retiring in the Washington DC area difficult. First, it is very expensive to live there. Second, Mark’s father had passed away and his mother’s health was declining. As hard as it would be, Mark determined that he would need to leave his boys and his grandson, and take Linda out to Las Vegas to help with his mother.

Mark developed a real interest in traveling and decided to buy a motorhome. After using one motorhome for one month, Mark decided it was not big enough to meet their needs. He decided to turn in that motorhome and buy one much larger. Mark and Linda’s friends, Gwen and Carl Hopper talked them into joining a military RV group. This would open many doors to travel opportunities. The most memorable trip was just last year when their group did the Canadian Maritime 2-month caravan through Eastern Canada. Carl and Gwen were in the lead motorhome and Mark and Linda were assigned to be the tail gunners at the back. Mark and Linda’s role was to ensure every family in front of them were safe. This was a trip Linda will remember for the rest of her life and how happy she is that she has those memories of Mark.

A few months ago, Mark and Linda convinced Doug that he and Ryan and the kids should move out to Las Vegas and live with them. Mark talked about his excitement about the opportunity to again live by one of his boys, Ryan and the grandchildren. Mark had the great opportunity to spend all of those days and miles with Doug as they moved the furniture across the country. What a blessing that was for both Mark and Doug to have that precious time together.

So in a way the timing of Mark’s passing was very difficult. However, there are some huge blessings for Mark and his family. Because of Doug’s recent move out here, the boys were together and got to play golf on Mark’s 67th birthday at Los Prados. The day before Mark passed away, on July 26th Mark got to play with Doug again. What a memorable round it was as Mark and Doug both shot their best scores ever. They had such a great time and the day was capped off with steaks on the BBQ.

Mark led a highly rich and successful life and he lived it well. He has a great family that love him dearly. He served his country faithfully for 30 years in the military. He traveled and experienced this great country and got to know people everywhere he went. Mark had a magnetic personality and people loved being around him. He was a story-teller and loved to entertain people with those stories. He will be missed by family and friends across the country.