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July 30, 1971 - June 13, 2013

 

Lt. Col. Mark Weber officially became a Rotarian earlier this year, but he lived the Rotary spirit of Service Above Self throughout his life.  He quickly became a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and an Elmer L. Andersen Fellow.  As it became obvious that his book, “Tell My Sons,” would be successful he elected to donate the profits to Outward Bound and The Mission Continues—two youth-oriented non-profits that he also supported with his time—even as he was dying.

Mark grew up almost outside our windows in the West 7th Street neighborhood, graduated from Cretin Derham Hall and Mankato State University, where he met his wife Kristin. He went on to earn a Master’s in History at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a Masters of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a Policy and Public Affairs Fellowship at the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute. And that doesn’t begin to tell us about the military schools he attended including both the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps Command and General Staff Colleges and a chest covered with medals. Clearly Mark was on the fast track to a galaxy of military stars.

 

So, it came as a great shock to many when he decided to leave the regular army in 2009 to be in Minnesota where Kristin’s father was suffering from advanced prostate cancer.   Mark transferred to the Minnesota Army National Guard where he quickly shattered the record for recruiting.

 

As a former news reporter and marketing executive  my jobs put me in contact with an incredible number of enormously powerful, successful and prominent people, but Mark Weber stands out above all the others.

 

Mark’s obituary and standard biography, while impressive, merely begin to paint the portrait of this amazing young man.  I only knew him for little more than a year, but we immediately bonded as though we had been friends forever. We could talk for hours and we laughed a lot punctuated by the occasional grimace when Buford, the name Mark gave to his cancer, made his presence known.  I feel as though a part of me has been ripped away; I cannot imagine how Kristin and his three boys must feel.  You know the end is coming and you think you are prepared, but there is no way to prepare.

 

I have children Mark’s age and yet he taught me so much about life.  He was scary smart but he never used his brain as a weapon; he could talk with anyone and put even the most stressed person at ease.  He could solve almost any problem—that’s probably why God called him home.

 

General David Patreaus recognized Mark’s special talent in Iraq and assigned him to the staff of Iraq’s commanding General, Babikir Zibari, as our country’s chief liaison officer to the Iraq army.  Mark actually moved into General Zibari’s home and came to be considered like a son and brother in that Iraqi family.  In that job he thought it would be a good idea if he learned Kurdish and that’s what he did in little more than a month—sufficiently well enough to understand what was being said around and about him. 

 

When our mutual friend, Chaplain John Morris, put us together to produce Mark’s book, “Tell My Sons,” his previous role as public affairs officer for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon opened doors to writers at the Washington Post and New York Times who readily provided critique and input.  In a business where people normally run the other way when you ask for book endorsements Mark had people calling him—famed author Mitch Albom, actor Robin Williams, Donald Rumsfeld, Walter Mondale, and Generals Dempsey, Patreaus, Vessey and  Zibari among others…..  Is there any wonder his book opened on the New York Times Best Sellers List?

 

Over the past three years Mark was shadowed constantly by an uninvited guest—death.  He would just smile and say, “Death is an ominous figure, but I’ve come to know him as someone who is just doing the job that I’d like to believe God gave to him.  And, since he takes all of us eventually, I’m pretty sure it’s not personal.  I didn’t hear him when I was younger, but I hear him a lot clearer now.  The message he whispers in my ear for all of us is….’LIVE BECAUSE I AM COMING.’ “

 

Mark lived life to the fullest determined to ride it at full speed to the very end.  A week before he died he planted six trees in his highly manicured back yard, a place that ranked behind only family and the army in his life.

 

After Mark’s death I was unprepared for the outflow of heartfelt messages from fellow Rotarians thanking me for bringing Mark into their lives.  It is with a mixture of pride and guilt that I acknowledge their condolences.

 

Trixie Ann Golberg, president of Lifetrack Resources, said, “Because you connected Mark to Rotary, my sons and I are forever touched by his words and example….when I think of Hope and Courage it is Mark’s face that I will see and his words that I will remember.”

Mark Henneman, Mairs and Power, said, “I feel that my life has been enhanced by getting to know Mark and for having read his book.  He has taught me a lot about how to live life with courage and gratitude.”

 

Frequently, Mark told audiences, “Life is not always going to go the way you want. Realize that sadness is part of the equation. You cannot get rid of sadness, and you don’t call what’s sad happy. You look for the happiness that’s right next to it.”

 

Our happiness today is that we had the opportunity, albeit brief, to be a small part of Mark Weber’s amazing journey.  By the way, if anyone has a long face, I know what Mark would do…you would be down on the floor for twenty-five push-ups; so, smile and listen for that roaring Weber laugh that he bellowed right to his dying day.

 

I request that this memorial resolution be read into the minutes of the Rotary Club of Saint Paul, and that a copy be sent to his family members.

 

James S. Kosmo

President (2013-2014)