When Mark Lewis left us in December 2014 I didn’t just lose my best friend I woke to the reality that life is not only unfair but at times it can be downright cruel. The illusion that our lives have an order and that our departure from it will be timed, allowing us to get done what we aspire to get done before heading out the door was dashed when he left us. Now, when the day comes that I get to reunite with Mark beyond the veil I am going to have some questions, but until then I count my blessings that I got to know him at all.
Mark is the reason my wife Nadya and I moved to the Pacific Northwest and we were frequent creative collaborators and coffee drinkers over the years we had been a part of each other's lives. Mark was very human, but a human tapped into a childlike realm of fantasy that he shared with us through his writings, storytelling, and just by existing in the world. We talked a lot about the legacy we leave behind us never knowing that one of us would be leaving before the other. Back then we thought our collected works were the value that we left behind us when we eventually leave, and this website is a testament to the rich stories Mark created over his lifetime, but this is only a part of it.
Our true legacy comes through the lives we touch along the way and Mark touched countless numbers of us. Mark’s memorial had to be held in a high school auditorium because no other venue could hold the number of people who wished to gather and remember him. Most amazingly each individual felt that Mark was their own private best friend, someone who uniquely touched their lives and for us to collectively see so many people each with their own interpretation of who and what Mark Lewis was in their lives is the true testament to his lasting legacy.
May this website represent a sample of Mark’s creative life, and inspire remembrance in those who were blessed to know him, and for those who did not may they have a glimpse at something special they have missed. Ultimately we just don’t know when the precious things in our lives might be taken away, so it is on us to both acknowledge and celebrate what we have while we have it. Something Mark and I did every time we got together, and I am so happy we did.
-Don Carson
Submitted 01/31/2022
