Mark Crafts' Obituary
It is with overwhelming sadness that we announce that Mark Andrew Crafts lost his truly heroic battle with cancer at the age of 59 on September 5, 2022, with his family by his side.
Mark was born and raised in Smithtown, New York. He was one of the "little boys" - the second youngest of six children. After graduating from St. Anthony's High School in 1981, Mark left Long Island to study at the University of Delaware, home of the Blue Hens. Here, by all reports, he had a fantastic time and made many lifelong friends. He also eamed a degree in marketing and after graduation 1985, Mark moved to New York City and began his career in media advertising sales at Lord Geller. Moving to the client side a few years later, Mark joined Ziff Davis and later, the Washington Post. Later, the Post transferred Mark to the West Coast, where he soon met Madelyn, the love of his life, in San Francisco. They married and they built their family, welcoming daughter Natalie. Very simply, Mark adored "his girls" and centered his entire life around them - along with the family's much loved golden retrievers, Taxi and Willow, and their cat, Monkey.
Along the way, Mark also founded a record company, Blue Hen records. Blue Hen never produced a hit record, but it had a great logo and terrific tee shirts which Mark gave to everyone. Mark was also a great lover of rock n' roll in general, and Bruce Springsteen, in particular - and he passed this love along to his daughter, Natalie. Mark's performance as one of the 80,200 back up singers in Giants' Stadium in 1985 can be heard on Bruce Springsteen Live 1975-1985 and was one of his most notable.
All of this, however, pales in comparison to Mark's work with Conquer Cancer during the five years after his diagnosis. Mark organized and rode lead in several fundraising bike races with Team Crafty. (Team Crafty tee shirts now coupled with orange sneakers). He also spoke on the behalf of the organization at Salesforce global meetings (where he now worked), to other groups across the country, and answered phone calls from friends and strangers worldwide dealing with cancer. At chemo sessions and during hospital stays, he never failed to befriend and encourage fellow cancer patients. Over the course of surgeries, countless procedures, one clinical trial and endless rounds of chemotherapy, Mark's enthusiasm and optimism never flagged and his faith that a cure will be found never wavered. He just kept rollin.
Finally, the Crafts and DaDalt families can not begin to express our gratitude to all the doctors, nurses, clinical researchers and personnel at UCSF and Petaluma Valley Hospital. Your care, your attention, and your love for Mark during his five year battle has made you family to us. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And words simply can not express how much we all will miss Mark.
Mark is survived by his wife Madelyn, daughter Natalie, his sister Kathy and brothers Peter, Kevin, and Timothy, sister-in-law Judy Crafts and a large extended family and in-laws spanning the country.
The funeral will be held on Thursday, September 15th, 10:00 am, in Skylawn Funeral Home, Memorial Park & Crematory at San Mateo Northern California.
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