In March 2020 Mark graduated from the John Volken Academy in Kent, Washington, a two-year addiction treatment program where Mark succeeded at many endeavors. Some of the best memories we have from these years include watching Mark participate in the inaugural season of the Utah High School Cycling League, during which his perseverance on and off his mountain bike earned him the Jeep Extraordinary Courage Award in 2012 from the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). Mark also developed a love for the mountains, especially Wyoming’s Wind River Wilderness, where he first backpacked to glacial cirques and caught dozens of trout in the alpine lakes.Īfter our family moved back to Utah in 2005, Mark continued his education in Sandy, Utah, where he also had excellent teachers from 4th grade through his high school graduation in 2014. To observe Mark carving graceful turns through powder or doing a tail grab off a massive jump was to watch poetry in motion. A year or two later, Mark learned to snowboard, and from then on, regularly challenged himself in the terrain parks at Brighton, Beaver Mountain, and Park City Mountain Resort. Around the same age, Mark learned to surf on a family trip to Hawaii, and it was not surprising to see him get right up after just a couple of tries. He learned to skateboard at age 9, and quickly became passionate about riding both indoor and outdoor skate parks. However, we discovered that Mark was most in his element on a board, whether one with wheels or one with bindings. It was also in South Carolina that Mark had his first experiences with many different activities, including bike riding, swimming, camping, Cub Scouts, Little League baseball, and day trips to Folly Beach. We will always be grateful for the kind and patient teachers there who channeled Mark’s energy and personality in positive directions and empowered him to thrive. After spending his early childhood in Utah, where he learned to ski at age 3, swim, and jump on the neighbor’s trampoline, Mark began his education in Columbia, South Carolina, where he attended Bookman Road Elementary School from Kindergarten through 3rd grade. The first few years of Mark’s life were filled with happiness and healthy adventures. In fact, Mark was a fighter throughout his short life, as he battled anxiety, depression, and the demons of addiction with the courage of a battlefield warrior for the past 14 years. On September 11, 2022, Mark David Doty, our precious and beloved son, grandson, brother, and friend, died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 26.īorn in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 9, 1996, Mark’s arrival in this world seemed to foreshadow a tough mortal journey, as he came out with a bruised little face that instantly endeared him to us as we took him in our arms for the first time. John Lennon, “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” “Before you cross the street, take my hand.”
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