Our Friend Mark Towner

Many of us who attend the Loving Lucy conventions in California knew a wonderful person named Mark Towner. He passed away in October 2000, and we would like to share our thoughts of him.

We all have our memories of Mark the performer, the auctioneer, the tour guide, and one of our friends. Mark- we will miss you. The 50th anniversary will not be the same without you but we know you will be there in spirit. Mike Elliott

My remembrance of Mark Towner was of him doing the auctioning at the Lucy convention last July; and of him asking us to take a picture of him and Wanda Clark. I think he even helped take down the beautiful "I Love Lucy" set the day after the banquet in July. A year before that Mark was our bus tour guide. When my pics of the convention were developed, Glen reminded me to send Mark the photo he had us take of he and Wanda. My latest remembrance of him was sending Mark the photo with a little "hello" note. He was a very nice, helpful guy who will be greatly missed. Mike Broad

One of the nicest things I remember about Mark is just how friendly and fun he can be. When the convention sponsored their first bus tours in 1998, I was lucky enough to get a seat right up front close to where Mark stayed through the tour, guiding us with every detail along the way. It was so much fun interacting with him and sometimes making cracks about his tour guiding. He took it all in and made fun right back. I knew then what a swell guy he was. He always brightened up the parts of the convention he took part in, especialy the auctions. He made them fun and put a lot of himself into them. Though I wasn't close to him except for at the conventions, I will miss seeing him there and miss looking forward to seeing him every year. Mark was truly a trooper in every sense of the word. Glen Charlow

I just want to add my thoughts on Mark's passing. As others have mentioned, Mark was a very multitalented individual. He also generously used his talents for charitable causes. In addition, he made enormous contributions to the Loving Lucy conventions. Besides doing a ton of pre-convention behind-the-scenes work, he also helped put together the banquet shows, performed in some of the banquet shows, took his turn moderating some of the panel discussions, conducted bus tours, and served as an auctioneer. And I'm sure I'm leaving many other things out. But besides all his talent and hard work, Mark was also a very decent, down-to-earth, genuine and humble man. I had the good fortune of getting to know Mark a little at the conventions, including sharing a meal along with Mike Elliott after the 1998 convention. After that, he and I carried on some e-mail correspondence with one another.
Mark seemed to take a genuine interest in getting to know the person he was talking to. He also always seemed to have some interesting story to tell about an experience he had had. In short, he was great company to be with. And he was a fine person, and one of the individuals I always looked forward to seeing when I went to the conventions. I am very saddened by this tragedy, as I know many others are. Mark has been on my mind every day since I heard about his passing. This is indeed a terrible loss, not only for us, but for all the others who's lives he touched and who were blessed by being a part of his world. He will be greatly missed. But I assure you, he will not be forgotten. Breck Richardson

i just read the horrible news about mark towner - and i, like i know anyone who knew him, am devastated. i met mark when we did the first loving lucy convention and each year thereafter had the pleasure of getting to see and speak with him. he truly was a kind person - always helpful and pleasant and always making us feel welcome. at this year's convention we needed baskets for display and mark heard our plight and volunteered to go by the dollar store for us and buy baskets -- which he did and had them there first thing in the morning for us. -- i mean, he went out of his way to show kindness and helpfulness to us and i will never forget it. his passing truly makes me stop and think that i want to be a better person - to be more like mark.
there are lots of wonderful people in the world, and mark was one of the very special, i believe -- all his hard work for charities and helping kids == it is a tragic loss that we suffer, - but without doubt, heaven's gain. the world was indeed better for mark having been here. Cathy Kelley

My first memory of Mark was at my first Lucy Convention in 1998 in which he was the tour guide for our bus. He was calling out trivia questions and when you knew one, you would get a Lucy card. The question that he asked was to recite the Don Juan dialogue, (Hark! Do I hear a footfall? etc.) So I raised my hand and started to say it. Before I was half through, he was laughing hysterically and I asked my friend, Terra, "What did I do?" Mark then went on to comment about my Southern accent, and said, "Just for that, you get two cards." From then on we became friends and talked even more after that. Tammy and I would always look forward to seeing Mark at the convention. I loved listening to him at the auctions and when he did some of the panel discussions. We will all miss him terribly. Eva

I meet Mark at the 1998 Loving Lucy convention and had the pleasure to talk with him at the '98, '99 and 2000 convnetions. He was an energetic, happy individual who always seemed to be laughing or joking with people. Regardless of how busy he was he always had the time to stop and say hi and chat with you for a few minutes. He was a familiar face at the Loving Lucy conventions and I will miss hearing his voice and seeing his smile. Tammy Robson

My memories of Mark are quite varied! I first met Mark 6 years ago when we were planning the first Loving Lucy Convention. That first year of creating the convention was exciting and scary! We had no idea if anyone would show up for this big party we were planning. We all just took off with the Love for Lucy and everything feel together. Mark and I worked on the Saturday night banquet show and Mark did everything from hanging lights to directing to acting and singing on stage. Mark could do it all! I remember when Teensy and Weensy (Roz and Marilyn) came in for their first rehearsal. Mark and I sat there pinching ourselves while they sang "Ricochet Romance!" We knew we were onto something fun! He was always around helping out in any way that he could, like this year running around gathering things for the auction! The thing I will remember Mark the most for was his love for laughter and performing. He loved to put a smile on a child's face or touch the heart of an elder. I know Mark is in a wonderful place and his light will continue to shine, through the many lives that he touched. Patrick Ziegler

As a friend of Mark Towner's I can only tell you what a great loss this is to all of us. He truly was a wonderful guy who never ceased to lend a helping hand to anyone. For many years, Mark was 'right in there' at our Lucy conventions, but moreover he was a kind-hearted guy who liked to get involved. A true renaissance man, Mark was an actor, clown, artist, singer, dancer and simply amazed us with his talent. With his genuine love for kids, his fantastic admiration for the lovable redhead and his warm-hearted personality and spirit...Mark was one of those decent people that you rarely find in this day and age. God Bless you, Mark. Rick Carl

It seems that I always knew Mark. I first met him in 1985 at a TV taping of a local talk show in Los Angeles called 330. (the show started at 3:30pm) Lucy was a guest that day promoting The movie "Stone Pillow". I remember Mark coming up to me. We talked and he sat next to me during the show. Mark raised his hand during the show and told Lucy how much he meant to her. During his early days of life he had been ill. And how "Lucy" was great medicine to him. After the show we all went back stage and we talked to Lucy privately. Lucy really liked him. Over the years I know that Mark would run into her from time to time and she was always glad seeing him. We also became good friends. Sometimes months would go by but it was always great seeing him on his early morning children's show. (which he won an Emmy for.) Also, his show filmed on the same stage where he 1st met Lucy at 330. When Tom Watson started to put the first convention together we knew we had something good when Mark was part of the team. He was always there! He like the rest of us wanted to make the conventions a huge success. He will be missed by many people. The next convention will be a little sadder but he will always be in our hearts. Micheal Stern

Read more about Mark on the Lucy Fan Club Page

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