Mark Alan Bestow

Los Angeles - On August 21, 2025, Mark Alan Bestow (changed to the original German spelling from Beskow) passed quietly in his sleep after a six-year battle with stage four colon cancer. Mark was born on May 16, 1965 and lived and worked on his parent's farm outside of Watertown, South Dakota. Mark had a passion for playing football and was a starting varsity running back for Watertown High School. At age 18, Mark left to pursue an accounting degree at National College in Rapid City and later earned his CPA, working in the oil and gas business in Denver, CO and Charleston, WV. In his early 20's, Mark found a new home in Los Angeles, California, quickly rising to the position of Chief Financial Officer for a national publishing company. After earning an MBA at the University of Southern California, Mark went on to become a financial consultant working at entertainment giants such as Disney and Dreamworks. Mark had a lifelong passion for cars, particularly the BMW M series, and was an encyclopedia of all things NFL and Formula One. Mark was also an avid gamer on Xbox, sometimes playing for days at a time with friends around the world and occasionally outing celebrities, including one Formula One driver, who he recognized from his voice. Mark especially enjoyed the competition and comradery of gaming. Mark was married in Venice, Italy, to Andrea Mendez, who introduced him to fine dining and wine, but the marriage eventually ended in divorce and he didn't marry again. Mark owned homes off Melrose Boulevard in Los Angeles and Sunset Blvd in Brentwood, loving all things LA (except for his favorite Miami Dolphins), but finished his last years in Burbank, California. Mark loved Dobermans, but shared his last few years of fighting cancer with his black cat Midnight, who Mark rescued as a kitten from his parent's farm. Mark was saddened by the passing of his father, James Beskow, less than two months before Mark, and is survived by his mother Mavis Beskow and siblings Jamie, Jared and Marty. Mark's ashes were spread in accordance with his wishes along the shoreline at Santa Monica beach.