Mark Roeyer Obituary

Mark Frederick Roeyer of Lawrence, KS, died August 22, 2019, at Olathe Medical Center. He was born April 6, 1943, in Kansas City, MO, to William and Martha [née Langenkamp] Roeyer and raised in suburban Kansas City.

Mark graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School planning to be a physicist. He was awarded a Navy ROTC scholarship to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY. After Mark left RPI, he served in the Navy on the USS Lawrence, DDG-4. Subsequently, he embraced his passion for literature and the visual arts and graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts (sculpture).

Mark migrated to Portland, OR, and worked for several years as a shipwright in a yacht repair shop on the Columbia River. There his interest in wooden boats, boat design and sailing deepened and became a life-long passion. In later years, he built several full-size wooden boats by hand for friends and family. He enjoyed many days in the sailboat he crafted for himself.

Upon his return to Lawrence, Mark worked for twenty-two years as the exhibition designer for the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. His hiring coincided with the construction of the museum and he was forever proud to have helped ready the building for its opening. He quickly gained a reputation among colleagues, staff, faculty and students for his creative excellence, high standards and abounding willingness to help anyone in need. For four of those years, Mark also served as Installation Assistant to the NYC artist Patrick Ireland (aka Brian O'Doherty).

Mark's deep and enduring interest in the natural sciences inspired the many projects his microscopes afforded, as well as construction of telescopes for his friends and himself. He was also a voracious reader of literature, history and the visual arts. Foremost, he was a highly accomplished artist and photographer, and a fine craftsman of wood. He exhibited his boat-inspired sculpture in numerous solo and group shows, including at the Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC; the Hal Bromm Gallery, NYC; the Wichita Art Museum; the Leedy-Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, MO; the Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS; the Massman Gallery, Rockhurst College, Kansas City, MO; and the Salina Arts Center, Salina, KS. His sculptures hang in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland; the Wichita Art Museum and in other public and private collections.

Mark is survived by his wife Linda Stone-Ferrier of Lawrence; stepchildren Evan Ferrier (Durham, NC) and Emily Ferrier (Seattle); sister Halli Roeyer (South Pasadena, CA); brother Kurt Roeyer and his wife Annette (Grants Pass, OR); nephews Luke Roeyer (Aspen, CO) and K.C. Roeyer (Oakland, CA), and niece Hannah Roeyer (Oakland, CA). He will be remembered for his remarkably creative artistry; his unfailing generosity, support and assistance to others; his witty humor; steadfast friendship; and his deep love for his family. He will be profoundly missed by all whose lives he immeasurably brightened. Fair winds, Mark.

Private memorial services for the family are pending. Memorial contributions may be made in Mark's name to the International Dark-Sky Association (https://www.darksky.org/) or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (https://www.michaeljfox.org/).