Mark Aaron West

A life well lived. That's a good description of Mark's life. Mark was born on December 17 th , 1977 and left us on July 21 st , 2007, at the age of 29. Mark truly made the most out of the life he had. This writing is dedicated to the life he lived.

Mark grew up in a rural area of SE Kansas. He had one older brother, Matt. And, it was Matt that gave Mark the nickname of “Chief”. His high school teachers nominated and awarded to him the Kansas State citizenship award. He graduated from Pittsburg State University in 2003 with a degree is Commercial Graphic Design.

He was fortunate to be able to travel and enjoyed two cruises. One to Hawaiian Islands and one to the Caribbean. He celebrated his 21 st birthday in the Caribbean. His family decorated his room and the dining room table. The ship's captain came to his table to wish him a “Happy Birthday”. One of the things that he did was to fly on a sea plane touring some of the islands. He also fished in Canada a couple of times and visited Disney World in Orland, FL a couple of times. He loved the trips,
Mark's life was dedicated to fishing and hunting! He ate and slept fishing and hunting. All spare cash went towards fishing and hunting. Drove his family nuts with fishing and hunting. He has a deer head mounted in the family home. All hours of the day and night Mark went fishing and hunting. Even when he could barely breathe, he went. Just about two months before Mark left us, he got to go to the family lake house. It was the only time he ever got to spend a night there. The ground is extremely rocky there and Mark was extremely weak. He lost his footing on a rock and was too weak to stop himself from falling. His brother just calmly walked over, held out his hand and pulled Mark up. Mark said two words: “Damned rock.” The picture with this memorial is of the boat ramp where his lake house is.

Another enjoyment in his life was woodworking. He loved it! He had a shop full of tools and had high hopes of working in a cabinet shop of his own. He left some beautiful memories of his craft with family and friends.

Mark was an active member of the First Christian Church. He went to church regularly and he believed in God. He always knew that his life would be short and he knew where he was going when it ended here. He belonged to MIA – Men In Action.

One of the most important parts of Mark's life was his connection to his internet friends. This was as necessary as food and water to him. It was very common to see Mark wearing his Therapy Vest shaking the snot out of him, smokin' on his nebulizer pipe and typing on his computer as he chatted to his friends.

Mark received his new lungs on October 17 th , 2006, and was looking forward so much to beginning to live the life most people do including employment, marriage and enough air in his body to be comfortable. The things most people take for granted and don't think twice about. And, he thought he made it. He healed after his transplant and was feeling good. But, it was not to be and shortly after the first of January, 2007, a downhill slide began. Mark left us on July 21 st , 2007, after a long, hard struggle. There is a drawer in the top of Mark's casket where his friends and family could put small mementoes. In the drawer is a picture of his truck, a picture of his dog, a small porcelain lamb that he had given his grandmother, and a small fishing fly lure that a friend made just for him. His brother put a small card in the drawer that gave a Christian definition of his name. The Christian meaning of the name Mark is “Mighty Warrior”. It fits him to a T. No one ever fought harder or with more bravery than our “Chief”. “Mighty Warrior”
By: Barbara West

Love Forever Mom & Dad

Doug and Barbara West