Mark Brisco

It is with supreme sadness that we report the passing of our dear husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, Mark Dennis Brisco, who left this mortal world on Sunday, April 7th, 2019. He will be deeply missed, but we know he will find joy in the presence of our Heavenly Father and other loved ones who have gone on before him.

Mark, Patti and Jon had just fulfilled a dream a few short weeks earlier, having moved from Antioch, California to Johnson City, Tennessee.  Mark, Patti, and daughter Lauren had joined daughter Melissa in Ohio to celebrate her wedding when Mark came down with the flu some days after the wedding, and due to a weakened heart, he was sadly unable to recover.

Mark was born in Whittier, California on July 14th, 1955, the fourth of five children, to Beverly and Floyd Brisco. He attended Pioneer High School, and also attended Brigham Young University for two years before he left to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in England for two years. He was a dedicated and devout missionary, and his years in England left him with an abiding interest and appreciation for that country.

While growing up, Mark loved music, and in high school he became a very accomplished and gifted drummer, then switched to guitar when he went to college, and music was an abiding love for his entire life. Though hard for some to imagine, he was a big fan of rock and roll bands such as the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers, and attended many concerts, much to the consternation of his parents.

After returning from England, Mark spent many years working in the furniture industry, and later transitioned to a position with AT&T, where he worked until he took an early disability retirement.

Mark married Patti Stierhoff in 1981, and they lived in Whittier, California until 1991 when they moved to Antioch in Northern California. There they made a home and developed many friendships, and they happily lived there through February of this year.

In 2012 Mark contracted a serious heart virus, went into a coma, and was not expected to recover. Due to many prayers, good medical care, and his resilience, Mark made a miraculous recovery, though his heart was forever after compromised. He was eventually fitted with a defibrillator and pacemaker, and his many trips to the emergency room were wearing and frightening for the entire family. Through it all, however, Mark was always cheerful, pleasant, never complained, and always seemed to make the best of a very difficult situation.

He was everyone’s friend, always willing to help however he could, and was an excellent church instructor for adult classes, and then hard-working member of the Bishopric in his local ward, where he was greatly esteemed and appreciated.

The most important aspect of Mark’s life was his love and appreciation for his wife Patti and children Kevin, Melissa, Lauren and Jon, and they, in turn, kept him going in the later, difficult times. It is a tribute to the whole family, and especially to Patti, who supported and cared for him, that he could live a happy life in spite of the serious medical condition that he was dealing with the last seven years of his life.

In sum, Mark was a good, kind, loving and spiritual man who is the image of a life well lived, and we truly love him with all of our hearts and look forward to when we shall see him again on the other side of the veil.