Mark Sinclair Bauer
Marriages
Lois Hiner - 1972
Lynda Rivers - October 1, 2001
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7 B Death Notice - May 7, 2014
Mark Sinclair Bauer, Grand Junction, 62, died May 2,
2014, at St. Mary’s Hospital. Services will 4 p.m. Thursday at
St. Mathews Episcopal Church.
Mr. Bauer was a power company supervisor.
He is survived by his wife, Lynda; two sons, John Sinclair
of Boston and Jace Rivers of Austin, Texas; one daughter,
Catherine Bauer Mayer of Grand Junction; two brothers,
Brian Samuel and Mathew, both of Grand Junction; one sister,
Nancy Bauer Sorenson; and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions to Firefly Autism West, 740 Gunnison
Ave., Grand Junction.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7 B Obituary - May 9, 2014
Same obit as in Steamboat Today
Steamboat Today - May 11, 2014
Mark Sinclair Bauer, loving husband, devoted father, grandfather, brother, nephew and uncle, died on May 2, 2014 of a sudden, massive heart attack in Grand Junction. He was 62 years old.
Mark was born on February 12, 1952 in Lamar, Colorado to Janet Helen Kephart Bauer and Samuel Bauer. He was the oldest of four siblings.
As a boy, his father was in the Navy and later worked for Rocky Flats and NASA, which moved the family around the country, including: Golden, CO; San Antonio, TX and Clearwater, FL. Always friendly, Mark easily made friends in every new place the family moved.
When Mark was 15, his father died. Mark’s mother, Janet, moved the family to Grand Junction where she began working for her parents, John C. and Helen Kephart, who owned the business Grand Junction Laboratories on North Avenue.
Mark graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1970. He took a year off after high school to work for his uncle Jac Kephart, now a known artist who at the time owned Jac’s Flowers on North Avenue. Mark completed one year of art studies at Mesa State College in 1971. He married Lois Hiner in 1972. In 1974, his daughter Catherine was born. He took a job with Holsum Bread Company as a regional delivery driver. The job moved his young family to Craig in 1976 when their son John was born.
After several years at Holsum, Mark worked a few odd jobs before taking a job at Colorado Ute, now Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale electric power supplier. He worked a constant rotation of shift work—days, nights and swings—working his way up to a position as shift supervisor. Never once did he complain to his family about the arduous hours. In 1995, he and Lois divorced.
In 1996, his beloved mother Janet died of cancer at age 63. During her illness, Mark drove from Craig to Grand Junction every day off from work to care for her. He and his mother had a very close relationship, and her death affected him deeply.
In 1998, Mark met Lynda Rivers who lived in Lake City, Colorado. Lynda was immediately drawn to Mark’s fun loving nature, kindness, and offbeat sense of humor. The two were married in a small ceremony at St. James Episcopal Church in Lake City, Colorado on October 1, 2001. Mark and Lynda lived in their home in Craig until Mark retired from Tri-State in December 2013 after more than 32 years on the job. They retired to Grand Junction to be near his three younger siblings, daughter and son-in-law, three grandchildren, uncles and nieces, and Lynda’s mother.
They bought a house they loved with a large workshop for Mark’s many projects, and with a separate living area for Lynda’s 94-year-old mother, Betty, who adored him even though he teased her mercilessly. He was also looking forward to spending time with his stepson Jace, whom he loved as if he were his own. Mark and Lynda were looking forward to so many more years together.
His family remembers him as a strong, handsome man with a loving heart who had a keen ability to lighten the tension in any situation with his quirky sense of humor. He was remarkably funny, but also had a very tender heart and gentle spirit. He never hung up the phone or left a visit with his children without telling them he loved them—ever. Mark had many lifelong friends, most of whom he met in high school and when he started his career at Tri-State. His friends valued his kind and generous spirit, and how he always volunteered to help a friend roof a house, build a deck, or install a sprinkler system.
Mark loved restoring cars. He owned and restored many memorable cars throughout his life. He almost always owned a Volkswagen, and had a love for 60s model cars. When he was 17, he owned a 1961 white Chevy Impala with an aqua stripe down the side and aqua leather seats. He accomplished two notable car restorations in his lifetime. One was a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle. The front end was a 1974 model because he liked the style of the long nose hood, onto which he welded a 1968 back end because of its superior suspension. The other was a 1967 Chevy Chevelle which took him three years to complete. He often sold his cars not long after completing them, always moving on to the next project. At the time of his death, he was looking forward to restoring a 1978 Porsche 911 Targa.
A child of the 60s, Mark loved the rock music of the time, and taught himself to play guitar and bass guitar. He even built an electric bass guitar of his own. He liked to spend time listening to his large collection of vinyl records, still listening to them long after CDs came along.
Coming from a family of artists, Mark also loved to paint. His work was displayed in shows, and he was looking forward to painting with his uncle Jac and sister Nancy during his retirement. Always learning and tinkering, Mark liked to build computers and other electronic gadgets from scratch, renovate houses and build furniture. He liked to stay busy and was always working on more than one project at a time.
Mark is preceded in death by his mother, Janet Helen Kephart Bauer; his father, Samuel Bauer; and his grandparents, John Chatley Kephart and Helen Sinclair Kephart.
He is survived by his loving wife, Lynda Rivers Bauer; his children, Catherine “Cat” Bauer Mayer and John Sinclair Bauer; his stepson, Jace Rivers; his brother, Brian Samuel Bauer; his sister, Nancy Helen Bauer Sorensen; his brother, Matthew David Bauer; his uncles Jon “Jac” Chatley Kephart, Dana Sinclair Kephart and Michael Dennis Kephart; nieces, Jennifer Ann Bauer and Samantha Helen Rash; and his three grandchildren: Elliot (8), Chloe (6) and Oliver (4) Mayer—all of Grand Junction, except John (Boston, MA) and Jace (Austin, TX).
Steamboat Today - May 8, 2014
Mark Sinclair Bauer, 62, of Grand Junction, died May 2 at St. Mary’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center. A memorial service was held at 4 p.m. May 8 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Memorial contributions can be sent to Firefly Autism West, 740 Gunnison Ave., Grand Junction, CO 81501. For more information, contact Caliahan-Edfast Mortuary.
