September 23, 1955-August 11, 2023

Mark Edward Hethcote was born on September 23, 1955, in Alton, Illinois to Mike and Joyce Hethcote, and spent most of his childhood in Creve Coeur, Missouri. When Mark wasn’t parenting his younger sister Terri and brother John, he was pranking them, resulting in screams of fear, ingestion of foreign objects, and mostly minor injuries. A member of the first graduating class of Parkway North High School (“I am free in ’73!”), Mark and his circle of buds– Jeff, Dennis, Gus, and others – gently terrorized nearby neighborhoods while forming a bond of love and friendship that Mark treasured throughout his life. 

After high school, Mark attended Florissant Valley Community College (and later St. Louis University), and accepted a junior position at International Shoe Company, launching a career in the garment industry. Mark was the guy in the bar who, while holding a Budweiser in his right hand, would caress the fabric of your shirt with his left, and enthusiastically educate you about the merits of cotton versus Modal.

In 1984, Mark and Jerry Chamberlain founded C&H Embroidery. When Jerry later went on to launch his own company, Mark renamed it CDI, eventually merging to become Gateway/CDI. While proud of building a successful organization over 20 years, Mark was prouder still of building a family environment for his employees and helping many launch their own careers. But he would tell you the proudest moment of his life came in 1989, when he and then-wife Cathy welcomed their baby girl Lindsey into the world.

To say that Mark lived and loved large is like saying he enjoyed a beer now and again. In photo after photo, we see him in his favorite place – the center of the crowd. He was the great embellisher, never letting the facts get in the way of a good story. With each telling the fish got bigger, the boat longer, the slope steeper, the golf score lower (though his golf buds called him Scratch), and the amused eyerolls among his listeners more emphatic.  The consummate jokester, his greatest joy was making people laugh. It is impossible to describe Mark without using the word “goof,” and over time, he learned the fine art of laughing at himself. 

Perfect date nights for Mark featured his “best in class” cast-iron seared steak served with a bottle of red wine at home with his beloved wife, Tracey – but nothing topped their epic Oscar night dates, the culmination of an annual race with Terri and Mike to see every nominated film. Mark loved to snow ski, dance with Tracey, and play at the drums, constantly beating on anything that stood still. He was a fearless do-it-yourselfer who often did not know what he was doing. On the flip side, he suffered from intense FOMO. He wrecked more cars than most people own in a lifetime, but it was never his fault – who knew landscapes boulders could walk themselves into the street?

Like his father, the man he most admired, Mark was an avid sports fan – from the St. Louis Cardinals to the St. Louis Blues, and most recently Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (compliments of the turncoat Los Angelas Rams.) But it was a different sort of fandom that set Mark apart.

If you were anywhere in or near Mark’s inner circle, he was your biggest fan, and he would describe you to anyone who would listen as the “….est” – the smartest, the funniest, the prettiest. When Mark loved you, as he did so many, he was the one cheering loudest during your game, concert, recital, showing, or awards ceremony.  To him, you were the most skilled hockey player, guitarist, grower, builder, writer, singer, photographer, salesperson, business owner, artist, etc., that EVER lived! No husband, father, brother, uncle, or friend spoke more effusively of his people than Mark.

We have all lost our biggest fan. 

Mark is survived by his beloved wife Tracey Walters Hethcote, daughter Lindsey Hethcote (Esteban Rangel Vargas), sister Terri Hurd, (Mike), stepmother Barbara Hethcote, mother-in-law Jan Walters (Mark’s favorite mother-in-law out of all of them),  brother-in-law John Walters, sister-in-law Kelley Walters Dennis, nieces and nephews, Michael Linn, J.D. Linn (Christin),  Alli Dennis Wolfe (Alex), Rachel and Sydney “Syd the Kid” Dennis, Ava and Colin Walters, and great niece Lyla Wolfe. Mark was preceded in death by his father George Michael Hethcote, mother Joyce Skinner Hethcote, and brother John Hethcote. 

A Celebration of Life will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, August 27, 2023, at the Eureka-Pacific Elks Lodge, 19 W. 1st St., Eureka, MO for all who would like to remember and celebrate Mark. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.