Mark Houskeeper

1969 - 2023

Mark R. Houskeeper 1969-2023 Lehi, UT -

Mark Houskeeper, 53, of Lehi, passed away on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, in his home, surrounded by family and friends, after a valiant battle against ALS.

Mark grew up in Lancaster, California. As a young child, his father and himself would go to air races and airshows, which propelled a life-long passion for "flying things." In college, he went on to attend Brigham Young University on scholarship. He then transferred to UCLA where he graduated with his Bachelors of English. He had a variety of professions. This included opening a detailed car wash, creating his own business, and spending 30 years in medical sales – where he liked to say that his job was to "kill cancer." As an entrepreneur, he was proud to have created a business that developed a successful product and company.

In addition to his passion of "killing cancer," he was a pilot, having built his own gliders. This interest in aviation led to an extensive interest in the art of falconry. Throughout his life, he worked with a variety of species of birds of prey. He enjoyed being outdoors, taking advantage of Utah's vast wilderness, fly fishing with friends and family and cycling, having participated in competitions around the United States.

On November 15th, 2008, he married Shamey Claudette Houskeeper, and became stepfather to two daughters: Natasha Rose Lemmon, and Cera Nicole Lemmon. As a father, Mark would attend every school activity, field trip, and event that the girls had. As a husband, he was incredibly romantic. He would surprise Shamey with vacations, gifts, and more. Years later, Cera and Natasha surprised Mark by asking him to legally adopt them.

Mark introduced his interest in science and technology to his daughters, from teaching them physics by building a "marshmallow tank," to helping them build rockets and pass their science and English classes. He never stopped encouraging Natasha and Cera in exploring their interests, hobbies, and paving the road to their own futures.

Mark was happiest when he was flying his birds, riding his bikes, skiing, fly-fishing, and watching movies with his family.

He was preceded in death by his mother Cheryl and his sister, Kimberly.

He is survived by his wife, Shamey and his daughters Natasha and Cera and his father, Richard.