Mark Lee Seifert

Mark Lee Seifert passed away on August 21, 2021. Mark was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Wabasha MN on December 10, 1950. He was the third son of Gaylord and Margaret (Cline) Seifert. They brought him home to a small farm 2 miles North of Pepin, WI, where he grew up. Mark attended country school through the 4th grade and then went to Pepin Public School, where he graduated in 1969. He attended the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1973.

Two important life-changing events occurred while Mark attended college. He joined a Marine Officer Candidate program that would commission him as a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation, and he met his lifelong partner, Melody Matthews, while working in the town of Hallie at the Anchor Inn. The couple would marry and have 3 children, eventually moving to Pepin to raise their family.

Mark was commissioned in December of 1973 and went on active duty to Marine Basic School, Quantico, Virginia. Mark and Melody were married October 14, 1974. They immediately left for the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida where Mark would train as a bombardier/navigator. After training, Mark served 8 years as a Marine A6-E Intruder Bombardier/Navigator, stationed at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina with 1 year in Iwakuni, Japan.

He would then successfully separate from the Marine Corps to pursue a civilian career as a pilot. He was a flight instructor and flew charters for Lakeland Aviation out of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Next, he flew scheduled passenger service for Midstate Airlines in a 19-passenger Turboprop and a 50-passenger TurboProp. Then, he flew as a Captain for Chicago Air out of Midway Airport, again flying a 50-passenger TurboProp aircraft. In 1987, Mark was hired by Airborne Express, a freight airline, out of Wilmington, Ohio. This is where he would find his long-term flying job, flying DC9s on the backside of midnight with a plane full of boxes to be flown all over the United States and Canada. He must’ve enjoyed that kind of flying as he did it for 21 years with Airborne Express.

Mark retired from flying in 2009 to come home and enjoy more time with Melody, his kids, his grandkids, and golf. He enjoyed working his hobby beef farm, traveling in the camper with Melody, making go-carts and minibikes in the shop for his 10 grandkids to ride. In his retirement, he spent a lot of time golfing, playing league and tournaments at the Lake Pepin Golf Course. Mark was a life-long member of the Pepin United Methodist Church and had served as a Trustee for several years. Mark had also served on the Pepin School Board.

Mark was preceded in death by his parents Gaylord and Margaret; his brother, Robert Seifert; a nephew, Jeremy Seifert; a grandnephew, Laughton Cassellius. He is survived in life by his wife Melody; his son Rubin, married to Carley; his daughter Leigh, married to Chad; his son Jesse, married to Ashleigh; 10 grandchildren; Anders, Nolan, Emmett, and Elyse (parents Rubin and Carley); Adryan, Will, Lucy, and Grace (parents Leigh and Chad); Odin and Jase (parents Jesse and Ashleigh); his sister-in-law, Nancy Seifert; his siblings, Ted (Karen) Seifert, Lynné (Mike) Cassellius, Lori (Don) Tulip, Cindy (Matt) Buvala, Jon (Tracey) Seifert; nieces and nephews; grandnieces and grandnephews; cousins.

The family will hold a small, private service for Mark at the Pepin United Methodist Church. For those not in attendance, the service will be streamed online Friday, August 27, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. To access the link to the service please visit the River Valley United Methodist Churches face book page.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Mark requested that family and friends get vaccinated for Covid-19 and if you have already been vaccinated, he requested donations to your favorite charity.

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