Obituary of Mark Bauer

Mark Allen Bauer, 70, of Walnut Creek, died on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in his home, surrounded by his family after an extended illness. A memorial service to celebrate Mark’s life will be held at 1pm on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at Lafayette Presbyterian Community Church, 49 Knox Drive, Lafayette, California. His family includes his wife of 38 years, Carolyn (Morency), son Miller Morency of Manhattan Beach, daughter Lily Anne of Oakland and devoted dachshund, Biscuit. He is also survived by his brother, Mick, of St. Louis, MO. He is preceded in death by his father, Elvis Bauer, and mother Myra Frier. Mark was born on August 1, 1952 in St. Louis, MO. He attended Catholic school there until he went to high school at Lake Forest Academy, a college preparatory school in Lake Forest, IL. He attended Eckard College and transferred to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL where he earned a BA in Economics and Finance and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business Management. Mark’s management career started with Cargill, Inc., a multinational agriculture business based in Minnetonka, MN. His favorite years with Cargill took place in St. Nazaire, France where for three years he was plant manager. He also honed his cooking skills by working in the kitchen of a French restaurant on weekends. In Mark’s personal life, during that time, he was recruited by Carolyn Morency, of Chicago, also a Lake Forest Academy alum, to make an annual giving donation. She made a visit to see him in St. Nazaire which started the course of their lives together. He asked her to marry him soon thereafter. Mark moved out of operations within Cargill to their Financial Markets Division in Minneapolis. From there he went on to work for Goldman Sachs in Chicago. He took a position with Merrill Lynch in both San Francisco and Chicago where he then was recruited by a former client to open a hedge fund in the Bay Area. In 2013, Mark took a job, returning to his beloved industry of agriculture by joining California Safe Soil (CSS) as Director of Sales and Marketing. He really loved the work that benefited from his intellect, clever problem-solving skills and his ability to charm people from all walks of life. In May of 2022, Mark was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and fatal brain cancer. He endured the treatments with every intention of resuming his healthy life, but the disease prevailed. Mark was a friend to many, a life partner and best friend to Carolyn (“Boojie”), and a generous teacher-of-everything father to Miller and Lily. He taught them to fish, to cook and to prioritize family. Mark loved making breakfasts for his kids and their friends. He was an uncle to Melissa Kazebee of San Marcos, CA, a wonderful co-worker to folks on Wall Street and in agriculture, an expert marksman, a slot car racer, a historian and an extraordinary chef to family and many friends. Memorial donations may be made in Mark’s honor to Lamorinda Adult Respite Center (LARC) at 433 Moraga Way, Orinda, CA 94563 or on www.lamornidarespite.org.