Mark Edward Pecukonis

Mark was born July 5, 1963 in Memphis, Tennessee and passed away May 15, 2020. He was adopted by Edward and Judith (Humphrey) Pecukonis. After Judith passed away, he was blessed with a new mother Martha Sieffert Pecukonis. Mark has lived in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Japan, and in Montana towns of Butte, Havre, Great Falls and Norris.



He enjoyed life, helped anyone and was the guy everyone wanted to sit by and talk to. He liked everyone and always had something funny to say. Probably his best saying was “in case of Neumann break glass”. He loved talking to telemarketers and made up some great stories to tell them. He could make light of any situation and found the good in everyone.



He was proud to have represented the United States for 6 years in the Army Reserves receiving an honorable discharge as an E4. He received degrees from Northern Montana College in Automotive Technology with a minor in business.



April 30, 1988, he married the love of his life Anita Neumann. In 1990, they were blessed with a daughter Susan and son Josh in 1992. Mark loved watching them grow up and was proud of their activities and accomplishments. He spent countless weekends, days off and vacations helping both kids for various reasons. He did anything and everything for them from moving Susan and Connor to Oregon, plowing snow, building things, and working on their vehicles. In 2018, Mark and Anita made the move from Great Falls to Norris to be closer to Josh and Susan, who live in Bozeman.



Mark was proud to have won the well-deserved National ASE Napa Parts Specialist of the year award in 2013. He was a highly motivated, detail-orientated, and dependable parts professional demonstrating superior parts knowledge and business practices, working in the automotive industry over 35 years. After college, he worked for Midas Muffler as a technician for 7 years, 8 years as Assistant Manager and 6 years as Manager and Technician. As a change of pace, he briefly worked for Pro Build in Great Falls. He then worked for Napa Auto Parts in Great Falls from 2006 until the move to Norris in 2018. He started there as a parts salesman and was in charge of the mighty fleet of Napa trucks working his way up to general manager. After moving to Norris, he worked for Napa Auto Parts in Bozeman until his untimely death, due to a heart attack. He loved working for you John, thank you for letting him work for you. We all lost a self-starter with vast knowledge on vehicle parts, sales, and maintenance with a record of diagnosing vehicle problems and taking corrective actions to ensure proper maintenance. He kept the fleet of family and friends’ vehicles in running tip top condition. His son Josh even said, “now we will have to buy new cars when they are broken”. We all lost one of the best men and friends anyone could ever have.



Mark did not do a lot of traveling as there was no place like home. He was able to go to Atlanta and Seattle for training. He loved his visits with Anita to Alaska and Jamaica. He won his trip to a NASCAR race in Richmond, Virginia. He got to go behind the scenes and meet the Napa race car drivers. The highlight of the trip was taking Anita to see the ponies at Assateague and Chincoteague Islands. Just kidding, his trip trade off was taking her there and he got to spend endless hours at the National Gun Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. He was a supporter of the NRA and a concealed weapon carrier in many states. He loved the outdoors, fishing and camping with family. He loved hunting and fishing trips with his father and Uncle Dave. Mark helped anyone who asked him and was a regular at Neumann Farms gatherings for help, he even helped Anita milk cows when they were dating.



Mark was true to his faith and loved his Lord. He is in a better place at the Lord’s side. One of the things he would tell his friends when they needed extra comfort and guidance was, “Jesus loves you and so do I.” He was amazing, selfless, caring, serving and a wonderful husband, father, and friend. Mark was a doting husband and always made sure Anita was taken care of. He tucked her in and made sure she was always safe and warm. He was truly a one in a million, a true loving soul that you do not find often in this world. He always gave people a reason to smile.



He was an amazing man and kept us all going with kind words and encouragement. He could find the positive in any situation. He lived for his children and would drop everything to help them with anything. We called him Mark-gyver as he could fix anything. He enjoyed helping Josh build the Garden Barn to what it is today. He had the most admiration for Susan and Connor and all their accomplishments. His finest moments were spent being a grandfather and watching his grandson Grayson grow up; and he has been awaiting the arrival of his new granddaughter Lydia Mae due June 21, 2020. He looked forward to when Camp Grayson was at our home and he could teach him how to love the farm and outdoors. Making mud puddles and throwing rocks were at the top of the list of fun. Thank ewe Susan and Connor for this precious gift; one day he will meet Baby Lydia.



He is survived by his wife Anita, daughter Susan (Connor) Schmidt, grandson Grayson, granddaughter Lydia, sons Josh Pecukonis and Josh Marks, sister Ellen (Marc) Griffith and niece Hannah, Uncles Dave (Laurie) Pecukonis, Paul (Elisabeth) Pecukonis, and mother in law Lydia Neumann, brother-in-law James (Michelle) Neumann, sisters-in-law Doris (Neil) Hamm and Cindy (Brett) Stene.



He was preceded in death by his brother John, father Edward, mothers Judith and Martha Pecukonis, Aunt Paulette Pecukonis, grandparents Edward and Pauline Pecukonis and Martin and Bernadette Sieffert, and father-in-law Emil Neumann.



Mark was a wonderful human being that taught all of us so many things other than auto parts. He continues to be a true mentor.



Thank you Ennis Volunteer Ambulance, Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Bozeman Life Flight for your response and aid, neighbors Gordy and Jo Stevens, our places of employment Home Depot, Belgrade MacKenzie River Pizza, Bozeman Deaconess Hospital Nutrition Services, and all the employees of the Garden Barn.



In lieu of flowers memorials can be sent to: Ennis Volunteer Ambulance Service and Grayson Schmidt (28 Scott Drive, Bozeman, MT 59718).



Cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service with Military Honors is Saturday, May 23, 2020 at 11:00 am at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service Tribute Center. The Memorial Service will also be live streamed on "Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service" Facebook page.