Mark Peters, born Mark Edward Samples, in 1939, in Seattle, Washington, wherein, at ten years old, in 1950, his mother, Nancy Sweat, and step-father, Jack, relocated to Tucson, Arizona, where Mark’s surname was later legally changed, at the behest of his mother, to ‘Peters’, essentially to facilitate having been raised, previously, in Oregon, as a young boy by his much older sister, Lee Nell, and her husband, Carl Peters. Mark, as a child, never had any knowledge of his biological father.

Mark was among the first year graduating class of Flowing Wells High School in Tucson, Arizona, in 1957.

In 1958, Mark enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After boot camp in San Diego and electronics school elsewhere, he served during the Vietnam era in 1959, during the Cold War, in a tactical air squadron aboard the U.S. Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet, CVS-12, an anti-submarine warfare carrier steaming throughout the Western Pacific, visiting numerous Pacific Rim Countries. Mark was stationed in Flight Deck Control as the primary ‘telephone talker’, responsible for tracking the movements of all aircraft on the flight deck, as well as the hanger deck below, as he relayed aircraft movement instructions he received from officers to other parts of the ship.

Upon his honorable discharge from the US Navy as a 3rd Class Petty Officer, at North Island, San Diego, CA, in 1962, Mark and his family moved firstly to Oregon, to reside temporarily with his sister and her husband, where he began working as a ‘Buyer’ in the field of electronics manufacturing and continued that career path upon relocating to Southern California in 1965, later residing in Orange County.

Early in 2006, at the request of the Honorable Jim Matheson, a Member of Congress, a United States Flag was flown atop our nation’s capital building, in Washington, DC, to honor Mark’s service as a U.S. Naval Veteran. A flag which Mark received and continued to display and cherish.

Soon after settling down in Southern California with the mother of their four children, in 1970, Mark continued his search to find his real father, and discovered his biological father was residing in Grass Valley, CA, and their subsequent reunion followed in 1972. It was indeed a wonderful time for them both. However, his father, a WWI decorated Veteran, (a survivor of the Argon Forest Campaign in France in 1917), soon succumbed to bad health at a Veterans Hospital in Yountville, CA, where he passed-on two years later.

Mark’s employment in the electronics Industry spanned over 40 years, as his career flourished primarily in Orange County, California, employed in purchasing purviews within several prestigious electronic manufacturing companies, initially as a Sr. Buyer, and soon as a Purchasing Department Manager, where he made several lasting friendships, as his negotiation skills and strong work ethics became well known throughout the So. California materials supplier base - as well as by numerous offshore vendors.

In 1993, Mark and his wonderful significant other, Beverly McCarrell, moved from the City of Orange, CA, to Southern Utah, where he married his best friend Beverly, in 1997, and in 2014, they purchased property together in the beautiful St. George Seniors Retirement Community of Sun River.

Mark and Beverly, when out-and-about town, enjoy “paying-it-forward”, and on occasion would spontaneously choose to pay for a patron’s meal, then quickly leave – or Mark would pick up the tab for a complete stranger’s grocery purchase – which turns out to especially benefit teachers when Mark observed abundant school supplies also being checked-out.

Beverly retired in 2023 from her 28-year part owner position with a civil engineering firm in St George. She was a strong and wonderful supporter of Mark’s career endeavors as well as in his later life, she became his loving ‘caregiver’, given Mark’s numerous physical health difficulties such as, Diabetes Type II, Osteoporosis, and Parkinsons.

Mark had always enjoyed the moniker as a ‘Handyman’, as he excelled in fixing things, and when not looking after their beautiful home, Mark, Beverly, and Benji (their dog), traveled about in their motorhome, enjoying the mobile life-style retirement brings.

As a member of the American Legion, Post 142, speaks to his 2023 receipt of the Veteran’s “Cold War” Medal, in a ceremony here in St. George. Additional accolades have followed including his name and brief military “bio”, (engraved in a replica of the marble “Wall” memorial, in Washington, DC), which stands in Hurricane, Utah. In another ceremony, Mark was chosen to receive an award for ‘Valor’ as a member of the United States Navy. Mark is very proud of his service to his country.

Mark is survived by his beautiful and loving wife, Beverly, his companion of 36 years, as well as by his previous marriage partner, Diana (Herndon), the mother of their four children; son Trent, and daughters, Robin, Holly, and Michelle, as well as grandchildren, and many great grandchildren, most of which, reside in California – except for one ‘BFF’ married granddaughter, Amie, the daughter of Mark’s 65-year-old son, whom both reside with their respective families in Texas.

A very special ancestral tie exists between Mark and his 90-year-old cousin, Ken Rausch, who resides back East.

Mark chooses to be cremated in lieu of a service - by Metcalf Bonzo Mortuary, St. George, Utah.