Mark Fred Larsen

Our hero Mark Fred Larsen was born December 29, 1962 to Fred and Carol Larsen, was married December 28, 1991 to Jennifer Weaver Larsen, has three fabulous children (Nathan-17 years, Aliesha- 14 years and Zachary12 years) and returned home to his Heavenly Father Sunday, December 12, 2010.
He grew up in Providence, Utah with his parents, Fred and Carol and sister, Chris. Mark and Chris shared a special bond. He had many stories about their summertime together as they opened their own zoo, tie flying shop, and yes he even was willing to play school with her even though he hated that. He had many friends and loved to water and snow ski, bicycle, go scouting, duck hunt, trap shoot, golf, fish, tie flies, build and fly model airplanes, and do all the other adventurous things guys like to do.
Mark was a math sterling scholar in high school which led him to Utah State University where he graduated with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He loved the Lord and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served the lovely people of Argentina on an LDS mission. After returning home he worked at Space Dynamics Laboratory and knew that's where he wanted to spend the rest of his career. He loved the work and his co-workers with a passion. But, he knew he still had a bit more schooling to complete. He completed his Masters and PhD at Brigham Young University where he met his wife, Jennifer Weaver Larsen. They were married in the Salt Lake LDS temple and returned to Cache valley so that Mark could continue working for SDL. Mark was a wonderful, tender, loving, involved husband and father, teaching his children by both word and example. His wife and children adored him!
Mark enjoyed the best career ever with his USU Space Dynamics family. And had the privilege to be a part of the WISE Mission that launched December 14, 2009. WISE was NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer that surveyed the entire sky in the mid-infrared spectrum. It consisted of over a million images. It measured the diameters for more than 100,000 asteroids, provided inventory of nearby young stars, as well as debris disks around thousands of older nearby stars. It found thousands of brown dwarfs; and farther away it found luminous galaxies in the Universe. Mark was honored by having an asteroid named after him.
Mark was always appreciated for his kindness and his wonderful and ready smile. He even had a special smile for his daughter, Alie up to the end of his long and hard battle with cancer.
Mark's life was a life of kindness and his surviving wife, Jennifer and children Nate, Ali, Zach and his parents Fred and Carol Larsen and Sister Chris (Andy) Little and many other extended family members have been richly blessed from Mark's unfailing kindness.
Mark will be greatly missed as he serves his Heavenly Father elsewhere; but we anxiously await our reunion with him.
The service will be held Friday, December 17, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. in the Providence South Stake center located at 360 E. 450 N. Millville Utah. There will be no viewing as per Mark's requests. He wanted all of us to remember him as he was so full of life and joy. Interment will be in the Providence City Cemetery. Funeral services will be under the direction of Bishop David Kuresa and the Allen-Hall Mortuary. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.allenmortuaries.net