Mark D. Miksis

Mark David Miksis of Phoenixville died on August 18, 2022 following a six year battle with aggressive colon cancer. At the time of his death, Mark was under hospice care in Phoenixville Hospital after being admitted briefly. Surrounded by friends and family, Mark passed away peacefully, on his own terms, and with dignity. He was 57.

Mark was the eldest son of Walter Frank and Delores Marie (Kalil) Miksis, formerly of Spring City Road, Phoenixville. He is survived by a brother, Brian (54), of Manchester, VT, and a brother, Glenn (51), whose last known residence was Pottstown, PA.

Mark was an extremely bright and gifted youngster, enrolled in accelerated classes throughout his school days, and graduated within the top of his PAHS class of 1983. Fascinated by all things math and science since childhood, his interests ranged from chess to Rubik’s cubes, Star Trek and space travel to early computing devices, like his Commodore 64. He was also inspired by the work his father did as a metal laborer, contributing to spacecraft and satellites for the Space Division of General Electric Company in King of Prussia. Mark’s mother, Delores, was a registered nurse at Phoenixville Hospital until 1973.

Recognized as a National Merit Scholarship winner, Mark went on to secure a Bachelor of Science degree from the engineering school at Lehigh University. He then moved to Maryland and began his career with Martin Marietta, continuing to build his education with a Master of engineering program at Johns Hopkins University. With an MS degree in 1990, Mark jumped at an opportunity in the growing field of computer technologies, landing a technical design position with Cypress Semiconductor in California’s Silicon Valley.

While in the Bay Area, Mark continued his interest in flight craft and achieved a pilot’s license, becoming an owner/operator of a Grumman single propeller airplane. He also earned an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley in the mid 1990s. Mark saw darker times through a combination of the young, hard-drinking culture of early 90s Silicon Valley, and his family alcohol addiction gene.

Mark moved to Huntington Beach in Southern California by the late 90s, working in technical sales and helping friends with a wine business. Then began a search for new opportunities that saw Mark move back East, then to Portland, OR and back again over the next decade, during which time he acknowledged his addiction and began recovery. He never drank again. It was after he returned to Phoenixville for the final time that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Mark had become an avid runner while living out west, and focused a fair amount of his energy on the sport during his illness. It gave him milestones to achieve, benchmarks for his health, and a means for his friends and family to cheer him on through it all.

Beginning in 2016, Mark persevered through bi-monthly chemotherapy treatments at Phoenixville Hospital’s Cancer Center. While the treatments and side effects were hardly joyous, he often remarked how the Center and its staff were a beacon of hope and humanity. Mark wished for anyone so inclined after his passing, to please make a donation to the Patient Assistance Fund in his memory so that others might be able to experience the same hope and kindness.

Phoenixville Hospital Cancer Center


c/o Patient Assistance Fund


842 Main Street


Phoenixville, PA 19460


610-983-1800