Traverse City Record-Eagle

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July 15, 2012

Mark R. Sommers

TRAVERSE CITY — Mark Richard Sommers died Dec. 2, 2011, after a long struggle with various health problems, including prostate cancer.

He was the son of Ted and Eleanor Mead Sommers.

He leaves his wife Barbara, of Cedar; daughter Heather Sommers and grandson Field Sommers, of Lansing; son Christopher Sommers, of North Bend, Wash.; sister Beth Rosenthal, of Guilford, Conn.; and a brother Mead Sommers, of Cape Cod, Mass.

Mark grew up in Connecticut, joined the Coast Guard, married Pamela Guger and attended Bridgeport University before becoming a life insurance salesman. He moved Traverse City where he became a partner in the Larkin Insurance Agency. He later started the Mark Sommers Agency. He and Pam were divorced; he then married Barbara Pope in 1983.

Mark was an avid sportsman — hunting, trap shooting, golf, snowmobiling and horseback riding. He loved to work on his 40-acre horse farm. He traveled around the country and the world on hunting trips and Equitable Life Insurance trips. He was one of Equitable’s top 10 national salesmen more than once.

He also played pool and once joined “The Hustler,” Paul Newman, for a pickup game at a Westport, Conn., pub. Paul had a beard and after a while asked Mark if he knew who he was. Mark replied “sure” and they played on — Paul’s trademark Budweiser by his side. It was never recorded who won.

Mark will be remembered for his smile and his ready wit, and most of all for his zest for adventure – no matter what the consequences.

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