MARK FOLLANSBEE

MARK FOLLANSBEE - SOUTH BURLINGTON - Mark Follansbee died on July 19, 2014, at the age of 93. He was born in Evanston, Ill., on Jan. 26, 1921, son of the late Marcus Acheson Follansbee and Mary Hosack Follansbee. Swimming and camping were great loves of his. He was captain of the Ohio State National Champion Swim Team, which would have gone to the Olympics, had it not been for W.W.II. He led many church canoe trips for youth and families. He loved the outdoors - and people! Mark was a graduate of Ohio State University and Yale Divinity School. Ordained in 1953 in the United Church of Christ, he served churches in Ohio, Minnesota, Connecticut and Montpelier, Vt. After retirement from the ministry, he was an early director of JUMP (Joint Urban Ministry Project). He was also chaplain of a cancer rehab team and a Hospice volunteer (after helping to found Central Vermont Hospice). Mark was among the founders of Vermont Interfaith Action. He had great love for the Church, and since 1987 was an active member of College Street Congregational Church, singing in the choir there for years. Mark is survived by his wife, Marylou Crooks; her children, Merriam Rink and Curtis Crooks, and their children; and his sons, Mark Alston-Follansbee, David Follansbee and Peter Follansbee; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A memorial service at College Street Congregational Church (UCC) will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to College Street Church Steeple Fund, 265 College St., Burlington, VT 05401; or to Joint Urban Ministry Project (JUMP), 38 So. Winooski Ave., Burlington, VT 05401.