In Memory of Mark Douglas Amundson
Mark Amundson, age 49, of Cambridge, passed away September 4, 2009 at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. A visitation will be held from 1-3 PM, Friday September 11th at the Strike Funeral Home – Cambridge Chapel, with a brief prayer service at 3 PM. Following the service there will be a celebration of life gathering at the Cambridge American Legion.
Mark Douglas Amundson was born August 30, 1960 in St. Paul to Douglas and Kathryn Amundson. Mark grew up in W. St Paul and when Mark was a teenager, the family moved to the Cambridge area. He was confirmed at Cambridge Lutheran Church and he graduated from Cambridge High School, Class of 1979. Mark attended North Dakota State University and received a Professional Electrical Engineering degree in 1983. Mark moved to Seattle for a few years where he worked for Boeing on Air Force 1. He then returned to Minnesota to work for Alliant Tech Systems in 1985. In 1988, he met Paula Holmen and in 1989, they were married in Las Vegas, Nevada. They built their dream home on 40 acres NE of Cambridge in 1990. In 1997, Mark went to work for Guidant designing components for pacemakers. In 2001, Mark began working for Honeywell as an applications engineer with the magnetic sensors division. Over the course of his career, Mark worked on many projects and designed many new products. He was the holder of 23 patents. Besides being an electrical engineer, he was an avid musician playing in various country and rock bands from his high school years until present. For the past 10 years, Mark devoted more time to being a sound technician mixing sound for different bands in the metro area. In the 1990’s he began writing articles for Gig Magazine and over the past few years, was a writer and the technical editor for Front of House magazine, a writer for Singer and Musician magazine and also the Live2Play Network.
He wrote a book called Live Sound: Theory and Practice. When Mark wasn’t playing music or mixing sound, he enjoyed spending quiet time at home with his wife and many pets.
Mark is survived by his wife, Paula of Cambridge; parents, Douglas and Kathryn Amundson of Cambridge; sister, Loreli (Jeff) Zimmerman of Forest Lake; brother, Michael and wife Kimberly Tyl of Eagan; father-in-law, Ronnel Holmen of Braham; sister-in-law, Diane (Bill) Nunn of Hamel; brother-in-law, Jeff (Sherri) Holmen of Braham; 2 nieces and 1 nephew; and by many friends.
Paula, I am SO sorry to hear about Mark’s passing. I am so glad he attended the class reunion. I have many pictures of him. I will print them off and get them to you. Please know that you are in my prayers and I hope you will find some comfort in knowing how many people care.
Bob and Kathy (Jensen) Bohman
Paula, So sorry about your loss. Of course you know that Mark was one of the greats. I had so much respect for his talents, personality and friendship. We haven’t spoke much in the past couple of years but he was never far from my thoughts. He will be missed. The love in the hearts and memories in the minds of folks like me who knew Mark will forever remain.
Tony Kaye (Shane Allan Band)
Doug and Kathy, My deepest condolences to both of you. I have so many fond memories of Mark and all of your family back in the “Zachary Taylor Band” days. May your memories comfort you now.
Sincerely,
Val (formerly Krinke) Peterson
Dear Paula, Doug, Kathy, Lori and Mike and all who loved Mark –
Mark’s spirit will live on through the many memories we all share. My memories of Mark are of his calm and gentle demeanor, his welcoming smile, his excitement about electronics and music, and his face lighting up when talking about his wife and their doggies.
I never heard him speak an unkind word, which is a wonderful tribute to his kind soul.
My prayer is that God hold us all close at this difficult time and … as days pass into weeks and future months that the pain eases and is replaced by the joy and love that Mark brought into this world.
Peace be with you,
Love,
Kimberly
Paul my thoughts and parayers are with you! Im so glad Mark was at the reunion and was always such a nice person. We all enjoyed him as a classmate and friend!! Peace be with you!!! Cindy(Englund)Shockman
Paula and Family,
I am so sorry about Mark’s passing. I am one of Mark’s high school classmates. I was fortunate enough to see him at the reunion this summer. I remember Mark as a very nice and talented man. All his adventures and accomplishments tell me that he knew how to make the most of every day. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
With Sympathy,
Laura Smith
What a shame that we don’t understand why these things happen. Perhaps our wisdom then would support family and acquaintances helpfully. “Every man’s death diminishes me” means much here. What understanding we do have is shared among us. Peace, as we remember to know more.
Noel and Christa Tyl
We are very sad at Mark’s passing he will be sadly missed by all his friends at Xtronics.
Paula,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. It is difficulty to find words as I received your news on Saturday, then found the Get Well card Kathy had intended to mail for both of you on Friday still in the mail out-box this morning. We are shocked to hear of this tragic turn and hope that you are comforted by the memories being shared by all.
With Sympathy,
Don and Kathy Fiedler
Melissa Skiba
I am so very saddened to hear of Mark’s passing. I never met him in person, however, I had many oppertunities over the past few years to chat with him online regarding things related to sound and electricity. He was a great guy to converse with. I will miss him and I wish I had known him longer.
God speed Mark.
Tom in Baltimore
Paula and Family,
I also am a classmate of Mark’s at Cambridge, and I remember Mark as full of good humor and also being very studious. He was a joy to be around then and whenever I would run into him since. I would have expected such an accompished career of Mark. He will be greatly missed.
Paula –
Mark’s friends / co-workers at Honeywell are deeply saddened at the passing of Mark. He will be missed greatly and our sympathy is with you at this time. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Paul and family,
This is Jemy from China. We are the distributor of HONEYWELL in China.
I am so sad and shock to get the news.Many weeks ago we discussed the MR sensor problem with Mark.
Thanks for Mark’s help . I don’t know how to express the feeling in english.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Jemy Wu
Guangdong Province,PR,China
I would like to express my deepest condolence. I met Mark during a business trip in Switzerland and got to know him as a wonderful person and also as a very professional colleague. I will remember the time we stayed together in Switzerland, particularly the wonderful evening in Zurich. Mark will be sadly missed by all his friends at YMATRON Switzerland.
May God hold you in his arms and give you comfort during this difficult time. We are so sorry for your loss and our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Monica (Hauge) Ahlman and Berit Rogers
Dear Paula, Mike and loving family of Mark,
So many family, extended family and friends are feeling the empty space in their hearts from Mark’s passing. Mike and Kimberly have been friends through MN Volleyball many years and after attending their wedding, we can see why there is so much sorrow at this mournful time.
May your love for each other and words of comfort help you find more happy moments as time passes. With deepest sympathies, DuAnn and JT Thompson
Dear Paula,
We are sad to hear that Mark has passed on. Those of us in Asia who had the privilege to work with him in the past few years have lost a great talent and dear friend.
With deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences from all staff of QuadRep.
My dearest friends Doug and Kathy and all your family
I hope it will help you to know that other care for all of you at this time of your great loss. With the support of your many friends and the love of your family may it help in some small way at this most difficult time in your lives. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. I only met Mark a couple of times in Florida but I know if he was like his Dad and Mom even in some small way he was the best.
Dear Paula, Doug, Kathy, Mike, Lori and families –
Our prayers and sympathies are with you all. We are thankful we were able to share a wonderful day with Mark at our family reunion in 2005. This is such a sad loss and reminder at how fragile life is, but Mark lives on in many hearts.
A life is like a song we write in our own tone and key, each life we touch reflects a note that forms the melody. We choose the theme and chorus of the song to bear our name, and each will have a special sound, no two can be the same. So when someone we love departs, in memory we find, their song plays on within the hearts of those they leave behind.
I met Mark when my husband played with the Shane Allan Band. I enjoyed the short time I got to know him. Mark was the kind of man that touched the hearts of the people he met. Many will carry Marks song along with them.
I often enjoyed reading Mark’s magazine articles and always found them very practical and informative. I was pleased to finally meet Mark at the 2009 Winter NAMM Show and I’m shocked and saddened by the news of his passing.
I give my deepest condolences to all his family and friends. . .
I worked at Honeywell Defense and Alliant in the late 80s and 90s with Mark, where a small group of us spent many lunch-times laughing over stories, jokes, songs, and made-up lyrics. Mark was a great engineer, musician, writer, and friend – and he left too soon. My condolences to Mark’s family.
To Paula and the entire Amundson family — My thoughts and prayers are with you as you face this unexpected sadness. I knew Mark only over the phone while discussing customer issues. He always knew the answer! I could tell by the tone of his voice he was a very dear, intelligent person. He will be missed…. Tammy Millsap, Stan Clothier Company-Iowa
Paula,
I worked with Mark over the years and he was thoroughly enjoyed by all my customers for his ability to help them understand HW Technology. The few times he came to the Northwest we really enjoyed his love of life and the outdoors. He will be greatly missed and you are all in our prayers.
Kathy, Doug and Family:
I met you several times when visiting my Mother, Phyllis, in Panama City Beach and felt an instant connection to you and always enjoyed any time we spent together. I would like to pass on my condolensence to you and your family during this difficult time.
I just learned this past week of Mark’s passing through the NDSU alumni newspaper. I played music with Mark and lived with him at the NDSU Co-Op House in Fargo. I spent a lot of time with Mark over a 2 to 3 year period and felt a real kinship with him. In addition to the sadness felt over his passing, I wanted to let his family know that he made a positive impression on people nearly 30 years ago and is remembered fondly. Everyone I have told about Mark’s passing had the same thing to say about him – very nice guy and really smart. Our best wishes and condolences to Mark’s wife and family. I’m very sorry for your loss.