Mark Allen Widegren
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5A - February 9, 2012
Mark Allen Widegren, 28,
Grand Junction died in Utah.
Visitation will be 3 to 7 p.m.
Saturday at Palisade Funeral
Home. A service will be at 2
p.m. Sunday at Palisade High
School. Interment will be at
2 p.m. Monday at the city of
Grand Junction cemetery on
Orchard Mesa.
Mr. Widegren was a pipeliner.
Survivors include his parents,
Rex and Rose Widegren;
six brothers, Todd, Craig, Jason,
Anthony, Dan and Jesse;
and two sisters, Camille Nack
and Shelly Widegren.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5B - Notice - February 10, 2012
Mark Widegren, 28, Grand
Junction, died in Utah.
Visitation will be from
3 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Palisade
Funeral Home. Services will
be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Palisade
High School. Burial will be at
2 p.m. Monday at the Orchard
Mesa Cemetery.
Mr. Widegren was a pipeliner.
Survivors include his parents,
Rex and Rose Widegren;
six brothers, Todd, Craig, Jason,
Anthony, Ben and Jesse;
and two sisters, Camille Nack
and Shelly Widegren.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5B - Obituary - February 10, 2012
Mark Widegren was born in
Mountain View (Dugan), Arkansas,
on October 3, 1983, to Rose
and Rex Widegren. He was the
eighth of nine children born to the
Widegrens. Although he was born
i n A r k a n s a s , h e c o u n t e d t h e
Grand Valley as his home.
The family moved to Palisade
when Mark was one year old. He
attended Taylor Elementary, Mt. Garfield Middle School and Palisade
High School. He also attended Mesa State College. Growing up
in Palisade, Mark was passionate about sports. He loved baseball the
most but was well-known for playing soccer and football. He made
all-conference in all three sports.
Those who knew and loved Mark remember him as a happy,
fun-loving guy who could be goofy and always had a joke. Friends
knew him as a genuine individual who would give it to them
straight, without any façade. He was also known for having a
fiercely competitive spirit, who wasn't afraid of failure or embarrassment,
and for being a conversationalist who could discuss everything
from politics to history. He loved sharing his philosophies
about diet soda, hypocrisy and current events. He loved to cook and
made delicious spaghetti sauce.
Mark was so passionate about the things he loved in life that he
relished sharing them with others. He was constantly giving books
to people to read. He loved the Lord of the Rings (the books, not the
movies).
Most of Mark's friends and family remember him wearing his signature
Kangol cap. He rarely wore a shirt at gatherings and was
most comfortable without one.
Family was Mark's top priority. He was intensely proud to be a
Widegren and talked non-stop about his family to others. He was
extremely close to his brothers and sisters. He loved his nieces and
nephews and they learned a lot about life from Mark.
Mark enjoyed trips around the world with his siblings, including
trips to Italy, Mexico and Brazil. He and his brothers, Ben and Tony,
bought a car once and took a road trip across the U.S., and later returned
to give the car to their mother. He could even find adventure
in Iowa.
Mark was tough. He survived stage four glioblastoma multiforme
(brain tumor) about three years ago. It always seemed he was less
worried about having cancer than everyone else around him.
He was an active member of the Main Street Hooligans, and had
the ring and tattoo to prove it. Mark was notorious for his prolific
body art. Each tattoo represented something important. He even had
one for his mom and dad. Now she's thinking of getting one for him.
Mark ran the family landscaping business, CW Landscapes, for the
past five years. He started working for WC Streigel Inc. last fall. He
was excited about his new position as a welder's assistant, working
on the pipeline in Nine Mile Canyon near Price, Utah. Mark enjoyed
working with his childhood friends, Brian Axe and Justin
Bertram. Mark and Brian died in an accident on their way from town
to the work camp where they lived. More than 100 friends and family
helped search for Mark and Brian with help from the Carbon
County Sheriff's Department and the Abby and Jennifer Recovery
Foundation. The family is eternally grateful for everyone who
helped with the search in any way or donated to the cause.
Survivors include his parents, Rose and Rex of Palisade; six brothers,
Todd (Michelle) of San Diego; Craig (Sara) of Montrose; Jason
(Michelle) of Littleton; Anthony and Ben of Grand Junction, and
Jesse of Palisade; and two sisters, Camille (Andy) Nack of Grand
Junction, and Michelle of Grand Junction. He also leaves behind
nieces and nephews, Mitchell and Brittni Nack of Grand Junction;
Hannah, Kris and Kaleb Widegren of Montrose, and Claire, Grace
and Anna Widegren of Littleton.
Memorial services will be at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, February 12, in the
Palisade High School. A funeral mass will immediately follow the
services, also in the high school. Memorial contributions may be
made to the Paypal account on the Facebook group page for "Search
for Mark Widegren and Brian Axe".
