It’s hard to find the words really. To think I won’t get to be in your presence again. I had taken it as a given that we would catch up again one day when possible. We had lost touch a bit, not for any reason other than the busyness of becoming a new mum & living in different continents.

It truly was a shock to hear the news of your illness & passing, a sadness fills my heart that I was not able to support you during your journey in some small way. Maybe that’s how you wanted it. So I take comfort in that.

I first met you & Olivia at burning man in 2011 where we shared an RV even though we didn’t know each other well, it was the beginning of wonderful friendships. So much fun, laughter & wild times. I felt your love & generosity, I always felt so special & seen when in your company. From our day out with Olivia looking at the art that first day, first year of the burn where we partied into the night, that built the foundations of my burning man family, to visiting you both in Newport beach. I was so happy to be with you in Mexico for your wedding. ❤️Thank you for all the memories. I trust you & Olivia are reunited & on to your next adventures together. So much love, I will never forget you. Xx

I already miss Mark so deeply it hurts beyond measure. He was among my favorite humans on the planet (maybe only rivaled by the equally joyful and effervescent Olivia), and every time I got to spend time with him (with both of them) made my life that much better. Vegas, NYC, CA - it didn't matter where, it just mattered that Mark was there - always making the room brighter, and the people in it happier. He had an uncanny ability to lighten any load and to add humor and love to any situation. He always seemed to operate on a different plane - one that was fueled by positivity, even in the face of conflict.

I have so many memories I could draw upon: a particularly special Christmas in NYC with Olivia and him, endless shenanigans in Las Vegas (oh, what a bachelor party he and Kish threw me), a legendary New Year's Eve in NYC with Mark and a bevy of our Los Amigos amigos... A recent memory stands out though. When he was last on the East coast, before he got sick, he had an unexpected layover in NYC. He called and asked if I could come in from CT to hang (and to inevitably get into some kind of trouble or other...). I had just sat down to watch my son's baseball game and wasn't able to join him, but we stayed on the phone simply yapping about life - all while my son made plays in the field and at the plate. It was like I got to watch my kid do what he loves with Mark watching and cheering too, all while we reminisced about Olivia, our many escapades together, and him being an earnest and wholly available sounding-board and ear for my various troubles. He was good at that - listening and lending perspective. And If he didn't have any particularly salient advice in the moment, he sure had a tireless good-naturedness and generosity of spirit that just made everything better. We stayed on the phone for over an hour, "watching" little league baseball and just... being. We'd have likely found the NYC-kind of mischief we generally sought out if I had made it in that night, and it would have been undeniably fun. This hang, though, was better. Old friend dads, doing a dad thing, and just communing (albeit electronically) for a spell on a warm Spring evening. I thank God for that last connection, and I take comfort knowing that Mark is now with Olivia, on an odyssey together that far exceeds our wildest imaginings down here.

I'll see you on the other side, brother. We'll go find some celestial trouble to get into and carry on the adventures in a better place. The world is emptier without you here, but so much richer for having had you in it. Godspeed. Love you.

I met my sister when I was 22. Before that, she was just an absence I didn’t have language for.

Our parents were only 15 when they had her, and adoption wasn’t a choice so much as something decided for them. By the time I found her, life had already built itself around that absence.

When I met her, I also met the people who loved her, a loud, dynamic, beautifully chaotic group of friends who felt larger than life.

I didn’t know people like them existed. Not in the way they showed up for each other. Not in the way they filled a room, each of them so different, so unapologetically themselves, but somehow perfectly in sync. They already had something whole, something that didn’t need anything extra.

And still, they made space for me.

They welcomed me without hesitation. In a situation that could have easily made me feel like an outsider, they made it feel like I belonged. Mark stood at the center of all of it. He was generous, alive in a way that pulled people toward him. He felt like the sun, and everyone around him seemed to orbit that light. Some of my most favorite times are with him in the center of it.

I don’t know what that world looks like now without him.

What I do know is that my heart aches for my sister. Losing someone like that changes everything. I can’t take that pain from her, and I won’t pretend it’s mine to carry in the same way.

But I can stand beside her in it. I’m grateful I got to know him.

May he rest in peace, reunited with Olivia. And may whatever light he gave so freely here continue to reach us, somehow, from wherever he is now.

It's hard to describe a specific memory when it comes to Mark because I have so many of them with him. His loyalty and generosity he gave to all of us will be the qualities I remember the most. Our journey together included so many great memories. The trips to Vegas, Palm Springs, New York, and Mexico. The beachcomber- hamburger with French fried. The countless journeys to the garden, the all night caps tournaments at the Villas, Spires, the blossom, out smarting the ATM, and who can forget the Blarney stone right in his backyard. I will always remember our bike rides to the Mutt Lynch's, the Aluminum Man contest- still proud of us being the 1st two out of the bar. One of my final favorite memories of Mark was the skydiving trip with a special group of friends. Nothing more hilarious watching Mark get strapped to a instructor half his size and twice his age go tumbling down the runway like Charlie Brown. Mark made everything more fun and I am greatful to have known such a great person. All the friends and relationships we have made together over the past 40 years is a tribute to him. God bless you brother. Love you always. Mark Semanie

Mark! Relentless vigor! Will never forget the laughs and memories! Thank you for a good time and that energy you always brought. we will miss you!!

There are no words that could ever capture how much Mark meant to me, or the space he will forever hold in my heart. These past twenty months were some of the hardest I have ever known, filled with moments that felt overwhelming and unfair—but even in the pain, I would not trade a single second of being by his side. Walking through every high and every low with him was the greatest privilege of my life. I can only hope that, alongside his incredible care team, we were able to bring him comfort, warmth, and peace during his final year.

Mark had a way of lighting up every room without even trying. His presence was magnetic—full of life, laughter, and a kind of energy that made everything feel brighter. There was never a dull moment with him. I will always treasure his hugs that made everything feel okay, his smile that could soften even the hardest days, and his insanely loud voice that never failed to startle me, no matter how many times I heard it. Those little moments, once ordinary, now feel like the most extraordinary gifts.

I am deeply grateful to have been part of the amazing group—Stephanie, Tom, Kristof, Leo, and myself—who stood together to care for him with love, patience, and unwavering dedication. We shared the privilege of supporting him in every way possible, and I will always carry the memory of that teamwork in my heart.

Mark, you were always my favorite hello—the person whose presence could brighten most days—and saying goodbye to you has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

I will carry the memory of your kindness and the joy you brought me in every step I take, in every quiet moment, and in all that I do. You will always be a part of me, woven into my heart in a way that time can never touch. I’ll remember you in every sunset I see. 🌅

I will miss you endlessly.

Love always,

Your brown ninja

Before crafting a few of my favorite Hyatt stories, I want to thank Stephanie, Terra, Tom, Kristof and Leo for giving so much of yourselves to Mark throughout this devastating ordeal. I wanted so much to repay Mark for all of his generosity shown to me, but felt comfort in knowing you were there for Mark in ways I could never have sustained. I barely got through 4 episodes of Cops and the plan Mark and I had to fly to Central Florida to meet those policemen on the show. Only Hyatt could have pulled that off.

It is also important to acknowledge LAURO GARCIA, one of Mark’s closest friends through both business and pleasure. Lauro drove up from Del Mar weekly to be at Mark’s treatments and kept us informed (like Stephanie) of Mark’s condition - always ever hopeful and positive until the reality of tragedy set in. I will forever be grateful for Lauro and the friendship, loyalty and brotherhood he brings to his relationships. He was the reason I met Mark many years ago and, as will be relayed in future posts (more thought out), the way my perspective on life changed.

And to Wade and Sam- your Dad earned you the right to call me anytime for anything.

Phil

In August of 2024, one of my best friends for almost 40 years, Mark Hyatt, called me and said “I’m in the hospital, they found cancer”. So I went to the hospital and since then I never left his side. But on March 14th, he left mine.

After 20 months of holding his hand through doctor’s appointments, hospital visits, chemo treatments, radiation sessions, and conversations harder than anyone should ever have, I held his hand as he took his last breath. I cleaned him up, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and got him dressed in one of his favorite outfits (with a pack of his beloved Twizzlers in his hands) for the next part of his journey to go meet his soul mate Olivia in the afterlife.

Our relationship transcended friendship, we are bonded together in a way I don’t have vocabulary for. I can’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling but the only word I can come up with is untethered. I woke up today and looked at the world differently and wasn’t sure how to do anything. So even though he made me watch hundreds of hours of Cops and other terrible television, and even though he was the dumbest smart person I knew and refused to listen to reason, and even though he definitely damaged my liver by making me “drink as much as we can as fast as we can” for decades, I don’t know how to live my life without him. I would give anything if he were here to explain it to me in one of his Mark Hyatt logical dissertations that seemed unhinged but ultimately worked. But until I can figure it out without him, I just have to do my best and say good bye.

So here it is, there is no world, no dimension, no universe, no parallel timeline where mark and I aren’t connected. So I’ll see you in the next world Marquis. I love you - Stephanie