Mark Loren Avery

Mark Loren Avery,62, died at home July 3, 2025, after a brutal battle with lung cancer. 

Mark was born June 24, 1963, to Robert and Dorothy Avery in Missoula, Montana.  He attended Russell Grade School and graduated from Sentinel High School in 1981, the year Mount St. Helens erupted.  As a young boy, Mark liked the “What if” game.  He was constantly asking his mom “What if.”  “What if this worked like this instead of…”

He was a hard worker and had multiple jobs that reflected his passions in life.  He started out as a paperboy (remember those) and then worked as the lot cleaner for Super Save Grocery Store.  He moved on to become a box boy as he had learned bagging techniques from his dad. 

He was employed in the kitchens of the Spaghetti Station and later at the Silver Tip which led to a lifelong love affair with food and cooking!  He enjoyed entertaining his friends and family with his creations and became the “go to” for providing holiday entrees – prime rib, barbequed steak, alfredo…  Mark’s holiday dinners were not to be missed.

 He worked as a delivery driver for Pepsi and spent some time in Kansas City.  Upon his return to Missoula, Mark worked at Quick Lube.  He had a passion for working on cars.  He and his dad spent hours restoring a 1958 Chevrolet pick-up with a wrap-around back window.  It was painted black and silver and was his pride and joy. If you saw it on the road, it was immediately identifiable as Mark’s (something the police also picked up on).  He loved Firebirds! He purchased a 1968 Firebird and enjoyed showing it off when the classic car shows were in town.

Mark did a short stint as a Huffy bike builder and then followed in his grandmother’s and father’s footsteps and went to work for the Post Office.  He had several routes – some walking and some driving and was acting postmaster at several of the smaller towns around Missoula.  He even went to North Dakota to help get the mail delivered to the many oil workers in the fracking fields.  One of his route numbers was “24” and was the same as one of his dad’s.

Mark married his wife, Michelle (Goldman) on October 10, 2020 (10-10-2020) in Las Vegas, Nevada. They rented Segway’s for their entire wedding party and rode them to the ceremony at a drive-up venue.  Mark and Michelle shared a love of traveling and had many adventures together.  They flew over Hawaii in a helicopter.  They went to New Orleans and Mark tried turtle soup for the first time.  They had a trip of a lifetime and went to Italy where Mark had the best carbonara he had ever had!  Included in the picture gallery of their trip are several pictures of Mark with Italian kitties.  He had a soft spot for cats and adored his -  a sleek feline named Luna.

Mark was an avid bowler.  He started in league when he was 5 years old and continued bowling his entire life.  He met Mark Danuser at the bowling alley, and they became close and life-long friends.  He had his own ball and shoes and a mean hook that would look like a “gutter ball” for sure and end up being a strike.

His friends were very important to him!   He spent lots of time snowmobiling, snow biking, water skiing, and camping and loved being social.  He loved to entertain and threw a Super Bowl party every year where he would always have a feast for everyone to chow down on. He would also have a barbeque on his birthday and would cook original pulled pork and coleslaw recipes that were mouth-watering.

Mark, his children, and his granddaughter all share a grumpy scowl that reflects to all just how they are feeling.  This expression led to the term of endearment “Grumpy Grampy.”  Grampy was the title he loved best. He was devoted to his granddaughter, Sawyer and made sure to tell her just how much she means to him always with a teddy bear. If she ever needs a hug from her Grampy, all she needs to do is squeeze her bear and in a heart-wrenching recording, he tells her that her Grampy loves her.

Mark was creative and he chased after his dreams. He was incredibly ambitious and liked home improvement projects as well as classic car restoration projects. He loved keeping and maintaining his home and took pride in his work and efforts.  Mark tried to convince Michelle that an alternate path should be taken every time you mow your grass.

Mark was looking forward to his retirement!  He recently completed his dream shop complete with a lift and air tools.  He had plans to restore classic cars in M and M Hot Rod Garage and had projects lined up.

The legacy that Mark left us: “Chase your dreams, live your goals, get back up even after life has brought you to your knees. Keep an open heart for love, an open mind to learn, and always be ready for the next adventure.”

Mark was generous with his time, loved life and didn’t want to miss out on anything.  He will live forever in our hearts and memories!!!

He is survived by his wife, Michelle, two children, Kyle Avery (Melissa) and Robyn Baertsch (Justin), stepchildren, Patricia and Nicole Johnsen, and Layton Fredericks, his mother, Dorothy Avery, sisters, Barb Bybee (Ron), Brenda Ingersoll (Mark), Trish Smith (Tim) and Anne Hoy (Rick) and his beloved granddaughter, Sawyer Baertsch.  He is preceded in death by his father, Robert Avery, his stepdaughter, Amanda Erchul, and his brother from another mother, Mark Danuser.