Life of Mark
I have access to my late father's email account, and found a draft that he never finished. So I thought it might be interesting to share it, and maybe even finish it from my point of view, and from the limited knowledge that I have been given from stories and second-hand information. So here we go:
[Additions by Dakota will be in Italics and blue]
So here we go.... I am Mark Briggs. I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. on October 31st 1962. I almost wasn't a Halloween baby I was born around 11:45 PM. and I think at the LDS Hospital. I always heard story's that my dad was out trick or treating with my sisters and when they got home it was time to head to hospital, my mom was ready to pop.
Hunting was less of a past-time, and more of a lifestyle for my father. Whenever he could, he would find a way to hunt. There were few things that he loved growing up more than hunting. It didn't matter what kind of hunting it was, he loved it. Hunting wasn't all he did, though. My father was an avid fisher, and nature lover. Both he and my grandpa loved the great outdoors, and relished their time together either camping, hunting, or fishing out on Strawberry Reservoir.
[Additions by Dakota will be in Italics and blue]
So here we go.... I am Mark Briggs. I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. on October 31st 1962. I almost wasn't a Halloween baby I was born around 11:45 PM. and I think at the LDS Hospital. I always heard story's that my dad was out trick or treating with my sisters and when they got home it was time to head to hospital, my mom was ready to pop.
My parents are LaRay and Josephine Briggs. I have 3 sibling, Lori Briggs is the oldest, then Stacy and then Kim.
My dad was a Union plumber by trade and was a hard working man. He was also born and raised in SLC (Sugar House Area) his parents my grandma and grandpa are Lavarre and Gladys Briggs. My dad was born April 5th 1928 and passed away on June 8th 2012.
My mom is also from SLC. She was a stay at home mom for most of my early life. She started working later in life and worked several types of jobs, but most of her career was with Salt Lake City Corp. She also worked for the Miller Group (Delta Center and the Ball Park for many years) She worked up till she was in her late 70's my mom is 83 (now 85) and still going strong to date. My moms parents are Iva Shurtz and Joesph Chesnut. Both grandma and grandpa died before I was born.
So my family grew up in Rose Park. My mom is still living in the same house with my sister Lori and her son Brandon and about 100 cats :-)
Looking back I had a great childhood. We would play outside all day long, sun up to sun down. I really don't remember eating, I wonder why I was so skinny. We would follow the Major League Sports seasons, Baseball in the summer, Football in the fall, and Basketball in the winter/spring. There were so many kids you could have full teams to play against. For Christmas I would get a Dallas Cowboys uniform, the Cowboys were the team to beat in the 60's and 70's. On Saturday mornings Kim and I were in a bowling league. One year I won the biggest trophy at the banquet and to this day, I don't have a clue what it was for. Best overall average for the season I think. The trophy was red and gold and was like 3 foot high. I played little league baseball for 5 years. I was on the same team for all those years I finally gave up baseball when I was 12.
My house was the summer hang out because we had an above ground swimming pool. We had a lot of fun in the pool. I remember as we got older we jumped off the roof of the house. As I got older everyone had a pool in their back yard. The bad thing about the pool was my mom would layout nude in the backyard by the pool. Who would of thunk.
Another thing I really enjoyed early on was car racing. A neighbor had a sprint car and every Friday night at the old fair grounds they would have races. It was always fun to go over to the neighbors house when he was working on the car. My dad and I would go to the races all the time. If we didn't go inside my dad would take me and we would stand outside the fence and you could see the top of the cars go by. I built several cars out of 2 x 4 wood and plywood and my dad would push me out in the street.
Hunting was less of a past-time, and more of a lifestyle for my father. Whenever he could, he would find a way to hunt. There were few things that he loved growing up more than hunting. It didn't matter what kind of hunting it was, he loved it. Hunting wasn't all he did, though. My father was an avid fisher, and nature lover. Both he and my grandpa loved the great outdoors, and relished their time together either camping, hunting, or fishing out on Strawberry Reservoir.
I was baptized at the age of 8 and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was baptized and confirmed in the same day. My sister Kim was baptized the same day. I remember Bill Cooley asking me If I wanted to be baptized and become a member of the church. I said yes and sure glad I did. I still remember that day clearly being baptized and the confirmation.
I grew up in a family that didn't go to church. Both my parents were baptized, but were inactive. Church was a couple hours in the morning, and then you would go back in the afternoon for sacrament. The main reason for going to church was to hang out with friends, scouts and you had to go to play basketball. I was a boy scout and received the rank of life. Scouting was nothing like it is now.
Growing up, Church wasn't my dad's number one priority. He was a normal teen. He wanted to hunt, hangout with girls, and go on adventures with friends. My dad wasn't active for most of his teens up until his late 20s. I was actually told at his funeral that my father had an affinity for beer. That all changed the day he met my mom.
They met at a dance hall at the time called, The Bay. Apparently, this was a hip and happening joint for young adults do dance. It is now a nice Italian restaurant called Cafe Molise. As I have been told, my mother was being tailed by a creeper throughout the night and was about ready to go home when my dad tapped her on the shoulder, and he snuck around her when she turned so when she turned back around, he was standing right in front of her. Her thought was "Oh. He's cute. I guess I will dance with him." The rest, as they say is history. They became quick best friends. Sharing secrets, building their relationship, and falling in love. After 3 months of dating, my father popped the question. He used a ring pop.
My father changed his course completely for my mom. He reactivated in the church, and they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Logan, UT Temple on July 13th, 1991. The following year, they were blessed with the greatest gift anyone could ever be given... Me! March 10th, 1993. They started their small little family in the suburb of Salt Lake, Rose Park. Not the most safe place to raise a family, but 6 years later they were blessed with another son, Colton. March 13th, 1999. These years weren't easy, there were fights, there were break-ins, there were even drive-by shootings. So in 2005, they decided that it was time to get out of Rose Park, and found a nice little house in the city of Centerville, UT.
Centerville was a breath of fresh air. A great ward, easy access to Farmington Bay for hunting, and the ideal city to raise a family in. Things were good for the next 11 years. It was the typical suburban dream.
In March of 2016, my dad was out hunting, and getting out of his boat, he jacked up his hip and also jacked up his shoulder. He insisted that he didn't need to be checked out, but in all reality, if he had just swallowed his pride, that might have saved his life. Come June, things with his hip hadn't gotten any better, and more signs had started to pop up, so we finally convinced him to see a doctor. The worst news that we could have hoped for came from this visit. My father had Stage 4 Prostate Cancer that had metastasized to his bones (So basically bone cancer). They offered a time frame, but my father declined. In looking back, we tried a lot of different alternative treatments, and had hope, but it didn't really slow down the result. The cancer was aggressive, and took my father's life on February 18th, 2017. Shattering the world our family had built up.
Those last 8 months of my father's life were incredibly heartbreaking, and I still have PTSD moments from the valiant fight my father endured. Those last 8 months were also transformative. My father became a spiritual giant. He gave his whole self to his God, and to his family. Any hard feelings he had from his past melted away, and he became a changed man. My father saw visions, and mended hearts. He gave where he could in service and in love. He sought to build bridges and bring others to the Lord. He became a true disciple of Christ, and became the most caring and loving father anyone could ever ask for. Those last 8 months weren't about him. They were about helping others and they were about coming to The Lord.
Everyone who knew Mark was blessed. He had a heart of gold that truly, and completely loved. His life was something special, and the world is a better place because we had him for the short 54 years that we did. He is missed everyday, and his memory is cherished.
One could learn a lot about living from the Life of Mark.
Growing up, Church wasn't my dad's number one priority. He was a normal teen. He wanted to hunt, hangout with girls, and go on adventures with friends. My dad wasn't active for most of his teens up until his late 20s. I was actually told at his funeral that my father had an affinity for beer. That all changed the day he met my mom.
They met at a dance hall at the time called, The Bay. Apparently, this was a hip and happening joint for young adults do dance. It is now a nice Italian restaurant called Cafe Molise. As I have been told, my mother was being tailed by a creeper throughout the night and was about ready to go home when my dad tapped her on the shoulder, and he snuck around her when she turned so when she turned back around, he was standing right in front of her. Her thought was "Oh. He's cute. I guess I will dance with him." The rest, as they say is history. They became quick best friends. Sharing secrets, building their relationship, and falling in love. After 3 months of dating, my father popped the question. He used a ring pop.
My father changed his course completely for my mom. He reactivated in the church, and they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Logan, UT Temple on July 13th, 1991. The following year, they were blessed with the greatest gift anyone could ever be given... Me! March 10th, 1993. They started their small little family in the suburb of Salt Lake, Rose Park. Not the most safe place to raise a family, but 6 years later they were blessed with another son, Colton. March 13th, 1999. These years weren't easy, there were fights, there were break-ins, there were even drive-by shootings. So in 2005, they decided that it was time to get out of Rose Park, and found a nice little house in the city of Centerville, UT.
Centerville was a breath of fresh air. A great ward, easy access to Farmington Bay for hunting, and the ideal city to raise a family in. Things were good for the next 11 years. It was the typical suburban dream.
In March of 2016, my dad was out hunting, and getting out of his boat, he jacked up his hip and also jacked up his shoulder. He insisted that he didn't need to be checked out, but in all reality, if he had just swallowed his pride, that might have saved his life. Come June, things with his hip hadn't gotten any better, and more signs had started to pop up, so we finally convinced him to see a doctor. The worst news that we could have hoped for came from this visit. My father had Stage 4 Prostate Cancer that had metastasized to his bones (So basically bone cancer). They offered a time frame, but my father declined. In looking back, we tried a lot of different alternative treatments, and had hope, but it didn't really slow down the result. The cancer was aggressive, and took my father's life on February 18th, 2017. Shattering the world our family had built up.
Those last 8 months of my father's life were incredibly heartbreaking, and I still have PTSD moments from the valiant fight my father endured. Those last 8 months were also transformative. My father became a spiritual giant. He gave his whole self to his God, and to his family. Any hard feelings he had from his past melted away, and he became a changed man. My father saw visions, and mended hearts. He gave where he could in service and in love. He sought to build bridges and bring others to the Lord. He became a true disciple of Christ, and became the most caring and loving father anyone could ever ask for. Those last 8 months weren't about him. They were about helping others and they were about coming to The Lord.
Everyone who knew Mark was blessed. He had a heart of gold that truly, and completely loved. His life was something special, and the world is a better place because we had him for the short 54 years that we did. He is missed everyday, and his memory is cherished.
One could learn a lot about living from the Life of Mark.
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