2008 Woodie Awards
Eastfield loses one of its own
Kimberly Ansley
Issue date: 8/26/08 Section: The News
Dr. Mark Presley, 61, passed away July 26 from stroke complications. Presley had been Eastfield's dean of science and physical education for 15 years.
Many considered Presley to be a sincere, caring man and he is remembered best for his strong faith and generosity by both family and friends.
"He always left you with a story and he always had a smile on his face," Mark Presley Jr. said. "He was just one of those men you meet and when you look back your life will be changed forever because he was a part of your life."
Presley's son said one of the best traits his father possessed was laughter.
"He could laugh at himself, he could laugh at others," he said. "It may even go beyond his laughter to his storytelling. He always had a good story," Presley Jr. said.
Manger of Office Support Technology Melba Jeffus wrote in a post on Presley Jr.'s blog that she still remembers the stories that the Dr. Presley told about his time spent with his family at Cape Cod.
"The last story he told me was about the baby snakes the [grandchildren] were watching in the basement window area," Jeffus commented. "Mark knew I wasn't a big fan of snakes, but he always tried to make me see how useful the 'good snakes' are to us. I always told him there wasn't any such thing as a 'good snake!'"
Presley Jr. said he always had time for a story and if he didn't have one to tell, he made it up as he went along.
"He always said when you're telling a story five percent has to be fact and the other 95 percent is fluff," he said.
Presley's secretary Cathy Kelly said that her favorite thing about working with him the last eight years was his good humor.
"He would always make it a point to say, 'Hey, Cathy, how are you?'" she said.
Kelley isn't the only person from Eastfield who feels the loss of Presley.
"Mark has an even larger outside family," Dean of workforce development Lindle Grigsby commented. "Mark has always been 'Little Dad' to all the students who came through the science and math division and with the staff and faculty who served those students."
Deep down, Presley Jr. said, his father was everyone's little dad.
Kelley said Dr.Presley became a father figure to her.
"He was so supportive of everything I wanted to do," she said. "He was always there if I needed something. When I was going through some family crisis I could go in there and talk to him about anything and he would always make me feel important."
Kelley wasn't the only one who looked up to Presley as a role model. Athletic director Anthony Fletcher said he was a father figure to him as well.
"I liked our personal one-on-one time when we got to sit and talk about expectations of achievements, excellence and striving to the best we can as professors and teachers and helping out students," Fletcher said.
Fletcher said Dr. Presley was the type of person who could put a smile on anyone's face at any moment, which was one of the best things about him.
Dr. Presley's patience was one of the reasons Kelley looked up to him.
"He would sit and listen to anybody gripe about anything and never blink an eye," she said. "He would just sit there and listen and then he would come back and make sense of it and make you understand what you were saying."
Presley Jr. said he felt his father's strongest trait was his love of life.
"His joy just overflowed to other people," he said. "I know he had his tough times like everyone does, but he could find joy in just about anything he was doing."
Presley's daughter Kijsa said she will always remember her dad as having a smile on his face, glasses perched on his nose and a laugh ready to brighten someone's day.
"He was always teaching, whether in the classroom, the family dinner table or pulled over on at the side of the highway," she said.
Kijsa said her father always knew something about everything. No matter where they were in the world or in their lives, he had an answer for whatever question you threw his way.
"Any time you needed to know or learn something, 'call Dad' would be said," she said. "He knew what to say, he was the rock of our family, and most importantly, the spiritual leader of our family."
Presley's youngest son Stephen said he's going to miss the support from his father.
"I miss being able to call him and ask him questions about life," he said. "I just had a brand new little girl, she's five months old, and I was planning on coming home and joking with him about raising daughters because he raised three. So I'll really miss the opportunity to sit across from him and ask him 'how do you do this, how do you do the family thing?'"
Stephen said his father was always putting others before himself and lived a very simple life.
"He wasn't materialistic," he said. "He didn't need a lot of things. He did care about new clothes and new suits, but he didn't care about looking good. He was very real."
Presley was an active member of First Baptist Church of McKinney. He taught two bible study classes, was one for the youth teachers and well as being a deacon. He had a great love of the outdoors, was involved in drama at the church as well as writing poetry in his spare time.
Kelley said Presley's strong faith showed in everything he did and one of his biggest gifts was the giving of himself to the community and students at Eastfield.
Presley earned his bachelor's degree in 1968 from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. where, at a dance, he met his wife of 42 years, Anne Hume Fisher. They moved to Montana where Presley completed his master's degree in geology at the University of Montana in 1971. Presley received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University in 1977.
After graduation, Dr. Presley moved his family to Austin, Texas, where he worked for the University of Texas at Austin as a research scientist. He then spent nine years in the oil industry in Texas, both in Tyler and Dallas as an exploration geologist.
Since 1992 Presley held the position of dean of science and physical education at Eastfield where he taught science, math, developmental studies, physical education, and athletics throughout his career.
Presley is survived by his wife Anne; his daughters Kari, Kijsa, and Whitney; his sons Mark Jr. and Stephen; his son-in-laws Brad and Denton Sr.; his daughters-in-law, Melissa and Haley; his grandchildren, Denton, Talia, Zachary, Westleigh Anne, Whitney, Keaton, Mark III, Isla, and Eli. He is also survived by his brother, Philip.
Contact Kimberly at kimberly_ansley@yahoo.com
Many considered Presley to be a sincere, caring man and he is remembered best for his strong faith and generosity by both family and friends.
"He always left you with a story and he always had a smile on his face," Mark Presley Jr. said. "He was just one of those men you meet and when you look back your life will be changed forever because he was a part of your life."
Presley's son said one of the best traits his father possessed was laughter.
"He could laugh at himself, he could laugh at others," he said. "It may even go beyond his laughter to his storytelling. He always had a good story," Presley Jr. said.
Manger of Office Support Technology Melba Jeffus wrote in a post on Presley Jr.'s blog that she still remembers the stories that the Dr. Presley told about his time spent with his family at Cape Cod.
"The last story he told me was about the baby snakes the [grandchildren] were watching in the basement window area," Jeffus commented. "Mark knew I wasn't a big fan of snakes, but he always tried to make me see how useful the 'good snakes' are to us. I always told him there wasn't any such thing as a 'good snake!'"
Presley Jr. said he always had time for a story and if he didn't have one to tell, he made it up as he went along.
"He always said when you're telling a story five percent has to be fact and the other 95 percent is fluff," he said.
Presley's secretary Cathy Kelly said that her favorite thing about working with him the last eight years was his good humor.
"He would always make it a point to say, 'Hey, Cathy, how are you?'" she said.
Kelley isn't the only person from Eastfield who feels the loss of Presley.
"Mark has an even larger outside family," Dean of workforce development Lindle Grigsby commented. "Mark has always been 'Little Dad' to all the students who came through the science and math division and with the staff and faculty who served those students."
Deep down, Presley Jr. said, his father was everyone's little dad.
Kelley said Dr.Presley became a father figure to her.
"He was so supportive of everything I wanted to do," she said. "He was always there if I needed something. When I was going through some family crisis I could go in there and talk to him about anything and he would always make me feel important."
Kelley wasn't the only one who looked up to Presley as a role model. Athletic director Anthony Fletcher said he was a father figure to him as well.
"I liked our personal one-on-one time when we got to sit and talk about expectations of achievements, excellence and striving to the best we can as professors and teachers and helping out students," Fletcher said.
Fletcher said Dr. Presley was the type of person who could put a smile on anyone's face at any moment, which was one of the best things about him.
Dr. Presley's patience was one of the reasons Kelley looked up to him.
"He would sit and listen to anybody gripe about anything and never blink an eye," she said. "He would just sit there and listen and then he would come back and make sense of it and make you understand what you were saying."
Presley Jr. said he felt his father's strongest trait was his love of life.
"His joy just overflowed to other people," he said. "I know he had his tough times like everyone does, but he could find joy in just about anything he was doing."
Presley's daughter Kijsa said she will always remember her dad as having a smile on his face, glasses perched on his nose and a laugh ready to brighten someone's day.
"He was always teaching, whether in the classroom, the family dinner table or pulled over on at the side of the highway," she said.
Kijsa said her father always knew something about everything. No matter where they were in the world or in their lives, he had an answer for whatever question you threw his way.
"Any time you needed to know or learn something, 'call Dad' would be said," she said. "He knew what to say, he was the rock of our family, and most importantly, the spiritual leader of our family."
Presley's youngest son Stephen said he's going to miss the support from his father.
"I miss being able to call him and ask him questions about life," he said. "I just had a brand new little girl, she's five months old, and I was planning on coming home and joking with him about raising daughters because he raised three. So I'll really miss the opportunity to sit across from him and ask him 'how do you do this, how do you do the family thing?'"
Stephen said his father was always putting others before himself and lived a very simple life.
"He wasn't materialistic," he said. "He didn't need a lot of things. He did care about new clothes and new suits, but he didn't care about looking good. He was very real."
Presley was an active member of First Baptist Church of McKinney. He taught two bible study classes, was one for the youth teachers and well as being a deacon. He had a great love of the outdoors, was involved in drama at the church as well as writing poetry in his spare time.
Kelley said Presley's strong faith showed in everything he did and one of his biggest gifts was the giving of himself to the community and students at Eastfield.
Presley earned his bachelor's degree in 1968 from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. where, at a dance, he met his wife of 42 years, Anne Hume Fisher. They moved to Montana where Presley completed his master's degree in geology at the University of Montana in 1971. Presley received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University in 1977.
After graduation, Dr. Presley moved his family to Austin, Texas, where he worked for the University of Texas at Austin as a research scientist. He then spent nine years in the oil industry in Texas, both in Tyler and Dallas as an exploration geologist.
Since 1992 Presley held the position of dean of science and physical education at Eastfield where he taught science, math, developmental studies, physical education, and athletics throughout his career.
Presley is survived by his wife Anne; his daughters Kari, Kijsa, and Whitney; his sons Mark Jr. and Stephen; his son-in-laws Brad and Denton Sr.; his daughters-in-law, Melissa and Haley; his grandchildren, Denton, Talia, Zachary, Westleigh Anne, Whitney, Keaton, Mark III, Isla, and Eli. He is also survived by his brother, Philip.
Contact Kimberly at kimberly_ansley@yahoo.com
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