Sharhon

We are heartbroken that a wonderful soul left us on the morning of November 18, 2023 at the age of 65, after a brave, year long battle with cancer.  Mark is survived by Sandi, his best friend, travel mate and cherished partner of 23 years, brothers Gary and Brent, sister Jane, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, a great-niece and a great-nephew.  Mark was predeceased by mother Patricia (2010) and father Michael (2021) Sharhon.

Mark was born and raised on 14^th Avenue in Burnaby where he attended 2^nd Street Elementary and then Caribou Hill Secondary.  Mark made many life-long, loyal friendships, sharing an amazing history of memorable adventures with his numerous pals over the years.

Mark had many remarkable journeys throughout his life.  At the age of 18, he rode his 10 speed bike down the west coast of USA, then east to Florida, visiting and working in a variety of jobs in many different cities and towns along the way to support himself.  Later in life, Mark  lived and worked in many North American places, and later traveled overseas to Hong Kong, Thailand and Cambodia.   He was a skilled outdoor person who loved hiking, skiing, camping and exploring the unbeaten path, most often with friends, and he had an uncanny sense of direction.

Mark was a carpenter by trade and master craftsman, working his last 25 years with Kingston Construction of Langley, where he had advanced to the position of Superintendent, overseeing many major projects around B.C.  He took pride in his workmanship and in his many accomplishments.  He truly appreciated the opportunity of mentoring and taking new apprentices under his wing.  He was respected and liked by everyone he worked with.  He was a good friend to his many co-workers and highly regarded by his superiors.

A few years after Mark and Sandi met in 1999, they bought their first home together In Coquitlam where many renovations and improvements took place, including a major kitchen reno, house expansion, interior/exterior woodworking and gardening projects that they loved planning and undertaking together.  Mark was so knowledgable, he could fix or build almost anything and taught Sandi a lot.  The highlight of their summers was cruising around in Mark’s restored 1966 red Mustang Convertible.

They had many memorable holidays over the years.  Some they shared with friends and family including an Alaskan cruise followed by a 5 day stay in Anchorage,  vacations in Dominican Republic, Portugal, plus multiple trips to Cuba, Hawaii, Las Vegas and to many areas of Mexico.  Their more adventurous holidays included self-driving tours around Panama, Morroco and Nicaragua (including stays on Corn Island and Little Corn Island on the Carribean Sea). Trips also included England, Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Spain and Sri Lanka (which included a brief stay in India, where they were deported back to Bangkok for not having India Visitor Visas).

In Sri Lanka, they fed baby elephants at the orphanage, discovered rare leopards on a safari, saw great white sharks and massive spinner dolphin pods while searching for Blue Whales on the Indian Ocean.  Mark and Sandi also toured many UNESCO world heritage sites. They encountered a variety of monkey species in Sri Lanka, Nicaragua and Panama, rode camels and saw tree-climbing goats in Morocco, and patted a baby Grey Whale in the wild in Mexico.  They had fishing excursions in almost every country they visited, catching baracuda, tuna, halibut, salmon, shark, scorpion fish, trigger fish, and rooster tail.  Mark also once had an accidental and surprising  Pacific Giant Octopus “catch & release” experience in Desolation Sound.

While Sandi did most of the vacation researching and co-ordination, Mark planned various cultural and historic site visits and events.  Mark also developed a keen artistic eye, photographing all their adventures .  Both Mark and Sandi developed a love for bird watching over the years, keeping a journal of all the species they encountered in their travels and at home.

Mark’s fly-in fishing trips with his dad and Sandi to River’s Inlet Resort and later to West Coast Resort in Haida Gwaii, were a particularly memorable highlight, especially for Michael.   They returned home with an abundance of salmon, halibut and many stories.  Who knew Salmon Sharks even existed before that last trip?

Their Canadian travels included boating, camping and RV expeditions that took them to a vast array of B.C. locations.  They also travelled around Ontario and Newfoundland, as well as 2 weeks driving along the southern California coast in 2010.  They had swapped their Coquitlam home for a 30’ motorhome during the Vancouver Winter Olympics, just to get away from the crowds.  Although a small TV had to be purchased along the way to watch the Canada / US hockey Gold game at an RV park on a picnic table.

In 2014, Mark and Sandi  purchased a ‘Palapa’ beach house property in Baja California Sur, Mexico, a stone’s throw from the Bay of Conception, near the town of Mulege on the Sea of Cortez. After a few years of flying down, they hit the road and hauled their 5^th wheel down through the USA and Baja, spending the winter months fishing, swimming, kyaking, star gazing/UFO discoveries, whale and dolphin watching, sharing afternoon Happy Hour with the playa neighbours and exploring Baja, along with their Dane/Mastiff companion, Pepper.   Their return trips north to Canada always took a different route, with camping stays along the way in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Washington and Oregon.  They always made many new friends on their travels and enjoyed some spectacular and historical sights.

Both Mark and Sandi were loyal Vancouver Canuck hockey fans, attending some home games (thanks to Kingston and Paul & Vicky).  They hosted many game night dinner parties and bbq’s with friends. Mark also enjoyed a variety of musical genres, attending more than 89 concerts over the years (he saved all his concert stubs).  He loved dancing and singing, but couldn’t really carry a tune.  But, hey, he knew all the words to so many songs.

Mark was a loving, intelligent, caring person and such a good friend. He had an infectious personality, a great sense of humour, and had many stories and adventures to share. He was loved by all and will be profoundly missed.  He leaves a hole in our hearts.

A Celebration of Life gathering will be planned for the Spring of 2024.

Please contact Sandi at macsandimac@hotmail.com for further information or to be added to the Celebration announcement e-mail list.