Mark was born in Richmond, VA on January 21st, 1951. He was the middle child, restless and ram-bunctious. As a teenager he took a summer job at a seaside hotel in Virginia Beach. He was not a model employee. The concept of a model employee would infuriate him. Instead, he used his time there to discover his calling in life, the ocean.
Mark would not call himself a draft dodger. He was as patriotic as the next good American and as such he had no desire to lose his life in Vietnam. On his way to induction at Fort Lee, VA a number of his enlistment documents mysteriously disappeared out of the bus window. The army sent him back home and told him to report back two weeks later so that this unfortunate clerical error could be resolved. He appeared in Cocoa Beach, FL soon afterward.
On a summer day in 1971, Mark walked into the Winn-Dixie in the shopping plaza behind the old Glass Bank on 4th Street and North Brevard Avenue to buy a pack of cigarettes. The cashier, Kelly Van Or-mer, refused to give him matches. A few weeks later, they were living together. They finally suc-cumbed to the institution of marriage on July 20th, 1988, upon learning that they were expecting a son. They wore flip-flops at the ceremony.
Mark and Kelly were the visionaries behind KV Sportswear, the pioneering Space Coast beachwear manufacturer that started in an apartment in Cocoa Beach, FL before finding a home in the iconic pur-ple factory on Ocean Avenue in Melbourne Beach, FL. The innovations they produced are too numer-ous to list. Mark stood for creativity and freedom above all else, and his business reflected those values. His customers became lifelong friends. It was his labor of love, a way of giving back to a community that had given him so much.
Mark’s creative spirit guided him throughout his life. He was an accomplished drum builder who part-nered with a firm in Hawaii to develop new material applications using paua shell and abalone that shocked the industry. He found success as a contractor who approached every project as if it were his masterpiece. In all of his pursuits was a perfectionist. He was never content with ‘good enough’.
He leaves behind his wife, Kay “Kelly” Pelzman, of Melbourne, FL, his son Mikel “Mikey” Pelzman, of Miami Beach, FL, his sister, Karen Gordon (Robert), of Green Bay, WI, his brother Barry David Pelz-man, of Melbourne, FL, his cousin Brenda Lisa Loewe (Dr. Charles), of Sarasota, FL, his nieces, Carrie Ferguson (Lorne) of Victoria, BC and Morgan Runyon (Steven), of Ocala, FL, his beloved cats, Kai and Lelani, of Melbourne, FL and a long list of friends. He follows his mother and father, Sue Pelzman and Sidney Pelzman, both of Indian Harbor Beach, FL, his brother, Brian Pelzman, of Coral Gables, FL, his brother-in-law, Kirk Kelly, of Melbourne, FL and two more beloved cats, Rocky, of Melbourne, FL and Nat, with whom he shared 21 years, origins unknown.
In these uncertain times, a service will not be held immediately. A paddle out which will celebrate Mark’s life and journey, as well as all of those whom we may lose in this crisis, will be held at a later date when it is safe to do so.
We cannot confirm if Mark is indeed a victim of the COVID-19 virus, as there is limited access to test-ing in Brevard County at the time of this writing. Always one to stand up to authority throughout his life, Mark would challenge you to demand better leadership from your local, state and federal govern-ment in these trying times and to be considerate of your family, friends, and neighbors by keeping yourself safe as we endeavor to overcome the ravages of this virus.
Aloha.
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