Paul Mark McDonald
August 18, 1955 ~ October 19, 2009
Resided in:
Asheville, NC
Asheville Butterfly Trail
Paul Mark McDonald, 54 of Pole Creasman Rd., Asheville, died on Monday, October 19, 2009, at his residence.
A native of Buncombe Co., Mr. McDonald was a son of Peggy Proffitt McDonald and of the late Paul Hyatt McDonald.
Mr. McDonald was owner and operator of McDonald Landscaping for more than 20 years, and was a volunteer Master Gardener.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his sisters, Amanda Edwards, and Andrea Simpson, both of Asheville; two nieces, two nephews, four grand-nieces, and four grand-nephews.
A graveside service for Mr. McDonald will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday at Forest Lawn Memorial Park with the Rev. Phillip Hurst officiating.
His family will receive friends from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Groce Funeral Home on Patton Ave.
Mark and I worked together on the Plant Clinics Committee for the Master Gardeners. He was upbeat, creative, and very knowledgeable. He was able to help many area gardeners. I will miss his poking fun at Yankees!
Mark was a very special guy. Always good for many laughs and great advice on almost any subject! He helped me enormously when we put in our lawn.
And did he have stories! You didn’t even have to ask for one; there was definitely one coming.
It’s sad to know he’s not leaning up against a truck tailbed with his arms folded across his chest,expounding on something somewhere. But maybe he is.
Mark’s passing is hard to bear. He was a treasure to all of us. We shall miss him terribly.
Mark was the ‘go to’ Master Gardener. He never failed to welcome questions with a smile and with great interest in whatever the gardening problem may have been. His kindness, humor, and knowledge will be remembered by me and I am sure by many others.
I am sorry to here about mark,s death my thought go out for the family.Exodus.6;3.may these thought bring you comfort.
This is shocking. Not only was Mark my mentor, we would share our garden problems or growth. We also shared memories of people in my neighborhood whom he had plowed for. I’m really going to miss ‘Brother’ Mark.
Dear Peggy, Andrea and Amanda: Our hearts are very sad to learn about Mark. We are thinking about you all at this time. We love all of you very much as our families go ‘way-back’! Remembering you in our prayers and lifting you up to our Lord.
Love, Clyde, Dot and Phyllis Mckinney
It is hard to express how much we will miss Mark as a member of our Master Gardener group, and as a friend. He’s been such an integral part of our group for 12 years. Mark missed few EMG activities. Just last week he was at the ‘Introduction to the Extension Master Gardener Program’?, as he always was, to offer words of encouragement to prospective applicants (and give me someone to poke fun at).
More importantly, Mark was a friendly, kind, and generous person. He was just a great guy, and a friend who will be sorely missed.
I am shocked and saddened by Mark’s passing. Mark was a dear friend and fellow Master Gardener. He was my mentor though I doubt he even knew it. Mark was such an unassuming guy–always there to help and share his expertise, but not grab for the limelight that was often rightfully his. Mark got me through my first year with the Master Gardener program with both his knowledge,which was phenomenal, and his wit, which was down-home and gentle. You couldn’t help but love this guy. His passing is truly a sad day for all of us who loved him.
Vaya con Dios, Mark. I am sure someone up there has a garden that needs tending.
Mark and I met in the first grade and we have been friends for life. A person only has a few people he can truely call a friend and Mark one of those people I consider Mark a life long friend. Mark will be truly miss by his family and friends. Someday I hope to see Mark again. Mark, may you rest in peace.
Peggy,Amanda, & Andrea,
So sorry to hear about Mark.I will
unable to attend the services as I
had surgery but my thoughts and
prayers are with you.Mark was a
wonderful person.
Betty
I am shocked and grieved to learn of Mark’s passing. We have lost the companionship of a very fine man. Mark set the standard for all of us as a Master Gardener with his enduring search for knowledge. He will be missed.
I am so so sad to hear of Mark’s passing. He was too young, only 54! He was one of the Master Gardeners who knew everything, and with a smile on his face, Mark was always willing to help. He will be missed very much.
Mark was known and loved by all of us Master Gardeners. It is difficult to express how he exemplified the best of what the Master Gardener program is all about: educating others about the love and science of growing things. We will miss him. May he rest in peace!
We’ve lost one of the true great gardeners of these mountains..always willing to share his knowledge and always a gentleman…I feel really privileged to have met and benefited from his knowledge.
I am so sorry for your lost. Mark is a wonderful, kind, and polite man. He is always so conscienceous about cleaning the Weekday School and everyone always notices! It is a blessing to know someone so kind. He will be missed by many.
May God bless and comfort you and your family during this difficult time.
Mark was always a breath of fresh air- whether in a classroom or in the garden. He was so welcoming to us ‘newbies’ in the Master Gardener program and always was telling me ‘ No question is a dumb question’.
We shall miss his encouragement and laughter. Would that we would all emulate Mark
I am so sorry for your loss! I always knew when I saw Ms Peggy, Mark was not going to be far behind. I pray that God will surround you with His comforting presence during this difficult time.
So sorry to hear of your loss. Mark was a wonderful person and i sure enjoyed working with him as a Master Gardener these past few years. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.
Dear Mark, So many happy memories of working at Manna and all that you taught me. You will be so missed. Shirley Schultz
Mark was a great asset to the master gardener program. He was always ready to help along with a friendly smile. We will miss him.
I just learned of Mark’s passing. It is quite a shock. Mark was always ready to answer your gardening question or share an idea or story. He was always upbeat. I never recall hearing him speak a harsh word about anyone. During my many years with Cooperative Extension in Buncombe County, I had several opportunities to work with Mark. He was an integral part of the Master Gardener Program and a great supporter of 4-H. He will be dearly missed.
Mark was one of the most wonderful, upbeat, generous people anyone could know. He could always put a smile on your face and joy in your heart. He was the true picture of a ‘Master Gardener’ and I have enjoyed working with him through the Co-op Ext. Service. May the Lord comfort you in your loss and give you peace and know that the world has lost a good friend !
You’re in my prayers,
Joyce
Several times I went to Mark with questions of practical gardening and mountain folklore when preparing an Ask A Gardner article for the Citizen-Times and always received a wonderfully detailed, beautifully expressed response. Mark was a gifted, natural writer.
Recently the subject was half-runner beans and part of Mark’s response concerned two other Master Gardeners, Hal Schail and Bill Taylor, both now deceased. Mark’s comment: ‘Too bad we can’t ask Hal and Bill. I could listen for hours to those two talk about tomatoes. Oh how we miss those guys.’?
I suspect that Hal, Bill and Mark will already be swapping their observations and stories about tomatoes, half-runner beans and lots more. Indeed we do miss those guys.
Glenn Palmer
Ilearned so much from Mark @Manna Garden since 2002.Heloved passing on his knowledge.Weve lost a dedicated MGV.
Peggy, Amanda, Andrea and family, we are so sorry
to hear about Mark.
Our hearts and our prayers go out to you all.
Love,
Mark, Mary and Zach
Mark will greatly missed in the NC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program. In this volunteer program, he was a mover and a catalyst. Mark knew how to approach the public in educating them about research-based gardening practices. He was an outstanding mentor to so many of us Master Gardeners. Mark’s contributions to Buncombe County horticultural techniques and uses will continue to be appreciated.
Jane Powell Fellow EMG
Dear Family,I am so sorry for your loss, I know it was a shock and very sad for all of you. Please know that you have been in my thoughts and prayers this week and I will continue to pray for you as you try to heal.
Peggy,Amanda,Andrea, just want to let you all know my thoughts and prayers are with you all. I know that the good lord is reuniting the family at this time. May god continue to bless each of you. Gary
How can it be that in a moment a vibrant, knowledgeable, loveable fellow can be gone! It is a great shock. MGV has lost a special member. We mourn our loss. I send my deepest sympathy to his family.
So sorry for your loss. Mark’s passing is a great loss for his fellow MG’s as well. I remember the first speaker presentation I ever gave for the Arboretum, and Mark was there. He knew I was nervous, and gave me a pep talk beforehand, and after it was over was the first to give me a thumbs up and a compliment. He taught me many, many things that you could not learn from books. I will miss him and that great smile always.
Mark was a good friend to my husband Roger and helped me with advice following his death. We don’t know what heaven is like but surely there are beautiful gardens for them to enjoy. Mark’s joy in living was so evident, he made you smile when you saw him. God will comfort you and give you strength during this time of grief.
Mark was not only my uncle he was a surrogate father to me and my brother Kevin. No matter what happened we knew we always had Mark. My wife and sons loved and adored Mark as much as I did. My heart is grief stricken,I do not know how to appease this pain. I will draw strength from my family whom I love dearly and my memories of Mark of which there are thousands. I loved Mark and will miss him always.
AMANDA AND FAMILY,
WE WERE SHOCKED TO HERE THE NEWS ABOUT PAUL. I KNOW THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE SUFFERED A GREAT LOSS. YOU ARE IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
WITH LOVE & SYMPATHY
Mark was always a joy to be around. He could talk to complete strangers and have them enthralled in no time. He was a great Master Gardener and he lead and taught by doing. I’ll miss you and your great laugh Mark.
My thoughts and prayers are with all his family and friends. We have lost a very special person in Mark.
Like many others I met Mark 12 years ago in the Master Garden class. Being new to the area, I thought it was a basic class for beginners. To my surprise most classmates were very experienced. It was Mark who encouraged and helped me a long.
My most memorable time is when Mark and Franklin Williams came to my rescue. I was in a very difficult time and had to move quickly, leaving behind the few little flower gardens I started. So I didn’t have to leave my lilac bushes, they came and moved them. These bushes had been transplanted from Ohio, they had been my mother’s. Now that I have lost my mother it is even more special.
I will always be grateful for Mark’s enthusiasm. I can still see his face and hear his stories.
I know his family will always miss him, but know in his short life he touched many people with his wonderful personality, they will always remember him.
Much aloha, Candis Killam
I didn’t know Mark very well but I do know his mother and I knew his father pretty well. I waited on them at their bank and became very close to them. It almost killed me when Paul died. He always had a smile on his face and would tip his hat when he would come through drive through. If Mark was any thing like him, he was a very good man. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. Mrs. Mcdonald I love you guys and I am so sorry you all are having to go through this all over again. Just remember he is in a better place and walking around with Paul happy and free. He is in a whole lot better place than we are. You all will see him again someday hopefully in the distant future. God be with you all.
Dear Peggy,
I am so sorry to have just found out about Mark, I would have been there for you if I’d have known. There will never be another guy like Mark, he will be greatly missed. I will never forget him or any of you. I love you all still.
Denise