John Mark Brubaker

J. Mark Brubaker, of Harrisonburg, VA was born on November 16, 1939 in Lititz, Pennsylvania to Aaron and Esther Oberholtzer Brubaker, the first of eight boys and three girls. Later they moved to a farm in Lancaster, PA. He graduated from Lampeter Strasburg High School and then continued his studies at Eastern Mennonite College, now University, majoring in biology and chemistry. After college, he left for Musoma, Tanzania, in East Africa with sponsorship by Eastern Mennonite Missions, where he taught for three years in secondary school. He loved the flora and fauna, snakes, and birds and riding his motorcycle. At the end of three years he returned to the states via a ship, where he vividly recounted feasting on buffets four times a day. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa a year later during a return trip. On his return home, he taught at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. After a year, he went to the University of Pennsylvania and received a Master's in Science Education degree. Mark met his future wife, Beryl Mae Hartzler, while he was at EMU and they married on May 20, 1967 after a six year courtship. Their honeymoon along the U.S coastline, down into Mexico, and across Canada, was the beginning of many travels to London, Europe, Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, and around the United States. In 1970 they moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia to teach at EMU. In 1984 he got a second master's degree in biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. When he returned to Harrisonburg, he taught at Eastern Mennonite High School, Blue Ridge Community College, and James Madison University (JMU). He taught at JMU from 1985-2021 until he was 80. He loved teaching and always made time to talk to students who wanted extra help. When he stopped teaching, he was able to spend his time outside with his beloved plants and trees. He was often found climbing his trees to prune them. Mark adored life and wanted to live life to the fullest. He was a member of Park View Mennonite Church. He loved children and taught kindergarten and first grade Sunday school classes at the church for over 25 years. Kids loved him in return as he showed them insects and plants. In 1973 they adopted Patricia Ann, who was nine years old at the time. She had been a foster child with Mark's parents. Heather Carmel was born late that year. For a while he taught part time at EMU so he could stay home to help as he always encouraged his wife, Beryl, in her career. He is survived by his wife Beryl; daughters, Patty Gass (Troy) and Heather Benin (Matthew); grandchildren, Harley (Jennifer) Martin, Derrick Gass, Mathew (Emily) Gass, Ella Benin, and Maxwell Benin, and great-grandchildren, Tina and Abigail Martin. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Loye and Dean. He is survived by his siblings Glen (Ellin), Fred (Carol), Lynn (Debbie), Jere (Barbara), Omer (Charmayne), Alta (Wayne), Debra (Jude), Deana (Tim), and sister-in-law, Nancy. Services will be held at the Park View Mennonite Church Memory Garden at 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 5, 2025.