Mark Luther Wilt

Mark Luther Wilt passed away in Arlington, Texas on 12/1/21 at the age of 72 with his wife Carol and his daughters Angie and Amanda by his side. He was preceded in death by his parents Luther and Alice Wilt and his brother Dan Wilt. He is survived by his wife Carol, his sisters Amy and Janet, his daughters Angie Wilt Cook and Amanda Wilt Heath, son-in-law William Heath, daughter-in-law Carey Cook, step-daughter Katy Park, stepson-in-law Jeff Park, step-son Matt Fooks, and Matt’s partner Julie Trujillo. He is also survived by grandchildren Will Heath, Belle Heath, Becka Heath, Jasper Cook, Jacob Leach, Dylan Salazar, and Kellan Park.

He was born on January 15, 1949 in Akron Ohio. His family attended the Lutheran Church. He attended Revere High School, where he played saxophone in the band, was a member of the drama club, was elected student body president one year, and then graduated in 1967. After high school, he attended college for a while, but left college before graduating in order to work and pursue his acting career. In addition to acting at the local Weathervane theater, Mark worked at jobs ranging from hotel night clerk, to teaching drivers education, to driving an ice cream truck.

Mark met his first wife Barb through their involvement with the theater. They had their daughter Angie in 1980, and their daughter Amanda in 1984. In the meantime, Mark decided to return to college, and graduated with a degree in computer science from Akron University in 1986. From then on, until his retirement in 2015, he worked as a software engineer for companies such as Goodyear Aerospace, Lockheed, and Bell Helicopter, specializing in the testing of aircraft braking systems software.

It was after his divorce from Barb that Mark and Carol met online just as he was on his way to Texas to take the job with Bell Helicopter in 2008. They quickly discovered many things that they had in common – a love for ideas, reading & learning, mathematics, the fine arts, education, science, religion, kids, and animals (especially kitty cats). Mark and Carol married in 2009. He had always had a deep belief and faith in God and in Jesus Christ, but was open to and respectful of Carol’s Bahá’í Faith. He soon began participating along with her in Bahá’í activities and learning more about Bahá’í beliefs. He adopted the Bahá’í Faith as his own in 2010, saying that he realized that was where he belonged.

Through the years, Mark remained passionate about acting and writing. He performed a wide variety of roles – ranging from The Sunshine Boys to Hamlet, and even a musical or two--- at the Weathervane in Akron, the Canton Players Guild, the Port House Theater, and more. He nearly missed his first daughter’s birth because he was doing a show with the Illusion Factory (a children’s theater). He won a Chanticleer award for acting at the Weathervane. He also appeared in an episode of Gray’s Anatomy, some training videos, and a couple of movies, including War of the Worlds. His last acting roles were in the play Zoot Suits at Cara Mia

Theater in Dallas, where he played three totally different roles: a gun-toting sheriff, a foul-mouthed sailor, and a judge.

When Mark wasn’t acting, he was writing. Focusing primarily on short stories and plays, he won a couple of awards for short stories back in the 90’s and won two honorable mentions for one-act plays that he submitted to the international publication Writer’s Digest more recently. One of those one-act plays was performed by a community theater group. He had a unique wit and an edgy humor that was woven throughout his writing.

But his love of writing and that quirky sense of humor extended to expressions of love for his family, too. For birthdays, Mark would never go buy a commercial card. He’d sit down at the computer midway through the day on his daughters’ or wife’s birthday, and start writing a story or a play with his daughters or the pet kitties as characters. Several days later, he would emerge from his office with a fully developed story or play that picked up on all of the personalities of family members or pets and would tickle the reader clear to the toes! They were always worth waiting for!

Mark was a devoted, involved father to his girls, especially when they were in school. He served as a coach and a judge for Odyssey of the mind, a program that his daughters were involved in that nurtured creativity, teamwork, and problem solving. He was very active with the program for several years. He loved his girls and his grandkids so very much, and spoke of them all with tremendous pride.

Mark was a complex man, and to say he was a character would be an egregious understatement. He was a hilarious, passionate, dramatic man who was always seeking. He was a voracious reader, and a prolific storyteller both as an actor and a writer. He will be missed by many.

A graveside service for Mark will be held Monday, December 6, 2021 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Parkdale Cemetery, 701 Mary Street, Arlington, TX 76010.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grandprairiefh.com for the Wilt family.