Mark Hirst

Mark Wilson Hirst, a husband who loved and admired his wife, a father who encouraged and supported his children, and a grandfather who energetically played with his grandchildren, passed away Wednesday, September 21, 2016. He was 95 years old. Mark was born March 22, 1921 to Frederick and Christena Hirst in a small frame home in Provo, Utah. He was a happy, blonde blue-eyed boy with a big smile. As a young child, he loved to fish for minnows on his grandmother's farm with a willow pole. He used her sewing thread as a fishing line and a bent straight pin for a hook. When he was five, his parents purchased a 32-acre farm in Orem. Over time he grew to heft 100 pound bags of potatoes, to pitch heavy forkfuls of hay and to endure long hours irrigating at night. Skilled with a gun at an early age, he bagged a large buck when he got his first permit at 16. At Lincoln High School he excelled in his agriculture class and built a rowboat in his shop class. Though only 135 pounds, he was a strong and scrappy football guard who dove into the game. He also excelled in wrestling. He graduated in 1939.

For the next two years he worked odd jobs and helped his father on the farm in his spare time. At one point he and two friends started up a restaurant called Rainbow Gardens. He attended flight school at the Provo airport and learned to fly a small airplane. During World War II he was promoted to operations chief in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He oversaw flight operations for training combat crews at airbases in the western U.S. The war ended soon after he shipped overseas, so he headed operations at an airbase on Tinian Island while planes maintained a show of force over Japan. Soon after coming home, he met Frieda Allred, a beautiful, brown-eyed redhead on a blind date. They married in 1947. For years he and Frieda enjoyed social dancing together in a club known as "Dancing Friends."

After the war Mark decided to go work at Geneva Steel Plant and eventually became a crane operator. With his sharp eye, he could lower the hook to two inches of the load.  He remodeled one home and finished another. For a short time he raised a small farm on his property, then focused on a backyard garden. He hunted deer, pheasant, quail and other game and fished whenever possible, even ice fishing. He tied flies and reloaded shotgun shells in his tackle room. He sold dozens of flies to outdoor sports stores. He was president of the Geneva Rod and Gun Club and an officer in the Provo Gun Club. He was also chairman of his high school class reunion. Mark was known for his warmth and humor. His peers respected him for his sense of responsibility.

Mark was compassionate. He helped take care of his and Frieda's elderly parents. He supported Frieda as they cared for their mentally and physically disabled daughter, Marcia. One story tells how he came home from work at midnight and found Frieda tired from sitting up all day with Marcia who had pneumonia. Mark took Marcia and sat up with her all night so Frieda could get some sleep. He was a friend to the friendless and took them fishing and hunting with him. He helped needy next door neighbors. Even though he was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he willingly built booths for church bazaars, quilt racks for the Relief Society, and wood projects for scouts. He was an assistant scout master and served as merit badge counselor for years.

At the age of 70, he decided to be baptized into the Church and was sealed in the Provo Temple to his wife and children. He and Frieda enjoyed a marriage of nearly 65 years. Mark was preceded in death by Marcia (1980) and Frieda (2012). He is survived by his son Michael (Marjorie) Hirst, and daughters Christena (Stephen) Hoyal, and Janice (Harrison) McKnight. He has 19 grandchildren and 55 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Funeral Services: Friday, September 30, 2016 at 11 a.m. at the chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 670 East 800 North, Orem, UT. (South Side of Street).  Viewings: Thursday, September 29 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary at 495 South State Street in Orem.  Also at 10 a.m. at the Church prior to the funeral.

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