Mark Allen Franklin

He was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma on June 15th, 1948 to parents Richard and Bettie Lou. Mark went on to graduate from Muskogee High School. He then furthered his education, attending Oklahoma State University, where he would receive his Bachelor’s Degree. Later in life he met Phyllis Pfortmiller, and the two were happily married on November 2nd, 2003.

After graduation from OSU, and several years in the savings and loans business, Mark started his own Commercial Real Estate business, Franklin and Associates. Mark was an avid sports lover, especially his Alma Mater OSU. He also loved to travel, and spend time with his family and dogs.

Mark was preceded in death by his father, Sgt. Richard, whose remains are still in North Korea; his mother, Bettie Lou, and his brother, Richard Lawrence.

Mark is survived by his wife, Phyllis Franklin; Children, Brooke Crocker and husband Gavin, Courtney Franklin, and Michael Franklin; Grandchildren, Chase Kennedy, Carlye Kennedy, and Isaac Crocker.

A funeral service will be held for Mark at 10:30 am, Wednesday, July 12th at Memorial Park Funeral Home with a viewing to take place before the service.

Mark will be laid to rest at Memorial Park Cemetery following the funeral service.

The family wanted to share memories in Mark's honor. Those are as follows:

Memories of Mark Franklin from Phyllis

Lunch at Pearl’s Lakeside was our first date. Mark ask me if I’d like to go with him to look at a property close by that he was appraising. That was the beginning of many travels to come all over the state of OK for work and to so many places from Hawaii to Russia for pleasure. Speaking of pleasure, we made many trips to OSU to see his Cowboys. He was ‘loyal and true’ to the end, keeping up with all the latest news related to the Pokes. He loved traveling and continued to read travel blogs to his last days.

That first date was also the day before Thanksgiving. I asked him his plans and he was going to be alone. Out of politeness, I invited him to come to our family’s dinner, definitely not expecting him to take me up on it! He said, ‘Okay!’ At some point I had misunderstood him and thought he was full blood Cherokee whereas he’s only a quarter. I let my family know I was bringing a guest in a “guess who’s coming to dinner” way. They fell in love with him right off the bat and as time went on I think some thought more of him than they did me!

After dating 2 years we were married but having both had previous failed marriages we went to counseling. The counsellor gave us personality tests to take on ourselves and each other. When we went back to hear the results, the counsellor said, “You two are two peas in a pod”. We really were, from our personalities to our 4 left feet which we discovered from taking a few ballroom dance lessons. It was the opposite of ‘opposites attract’ in our case.

Family was most important to him. He was supportive both in wisdom and generosity with not only his children but my family too. His support of me when caring for my mother was amazing. His kindness and generosity wasn’t limited to family though. He was willing to help people he barely knew. Once while traveling in Istanbul the husband of a couple we met had his debit card sucked up into the machine. Mark didn’t even hesitate to offer him a hundred dollars. We thought we may never see that money again but it wasn’t long after we returned home that a check came in the mail. Of course, we hurried to cash it making sure it was real!! Experiences like that showed what a good judge of character Mark was.

Mark’s demeanor was so calm. We rarely disagreed on anything. He was in pain for at least the last six years and hardly ever complained and he NEVER gave up HOPE of recovering from any of his multiple health problems. He was not only kind, sometimes to a fault, but also stronger than most people recognized. I miss him terribly but am thankful that he’s at peace and no longer suffering.

Memories of Mark Franklin from Brooke

When I think of my dad, I think of a man who was calm, cool, and collected. He was very even-tempered and didn’t show a lot of emotion no matter the circumstance. I can never remember hearing him raise his voice. We always knew how much he loved us, and he always wore a great big smile. He was gentle, yet firm; generous and encouraging; polite and well respected. He had class.

People used to tell me that my dad ran like a gazelle when he was in high school at Muskogee.

He was an all-stater in track.

I remember my dad taking me to Honor Heights Park when I was a kid and always stopping to get us some candy bars. He had quite a sweet tooth!

He loved to travel, and we were able to travel together many times from New York and D.C. to the Caribbean to Las Vegas.

We also made special memories at OSU football games, as we were both OSU grads and avid fans. While I would be standing and yelling at the players, he would be sitting by quietly smiling (and cheering silently). He was very proud that we had 4 generations of Cowboy graduates in our family - my grandfather, my father, me, and my daughter, Carlye.

He was unselfish and giving. He was very conscientious about treating others well. Even in his last days, he would try to make conversation for our sakes - even when he didn’t feel like it.

There is no way I can list it all…

My dad was a steady constant in my life. I will miss his sweet spirit and sound advice. I will miss his special smile and his calm voice. I will miss it all!

Memories of Mark Franklin from Courtney

Dad was kind, agreeable, a gentleman, soft spoken, hospitable, a good listener, always willing to participate, fun in a quiet way, pleasant, loved to travel - his hobby was collecting travel points, loved watching movies, going to OSU football games, playing games, fishing and spending time with family and friends. He also had a weakness for sweets which runs in the family.

Dad could always hyper focus on a task, and sometimes that “task” was watching TV. When he got in the zone everything around him faded away. One afternoon, when I was 5 years old, Dad was watching me and a football game simultaneously. I was combing my hair and got the comb tangled on top of my head. After many attempts to tell dad the comb was stuck I finally took matters into my own hands. I started school with buzzed bangs that year.

Dad loved to tease the Starbucks barista whose name was Sam and tell him he shared the name with his grand dog also named Sam. Luckily, Sam the barista was good natured about it and said it wasn’t the first time someone had said he shared a name with their dog.

I’m so thankful for all the memories my Dad and I shared. I only wish he were here to make many more.

Memories of Mark Franklin from Mike

When I think about my dad I think about his warm smile and his humor and joy for life despite the tragedy that it can bring. He lost his father when he was a baby and his only brother when he was in his 20’s. He didn’t talk much about this because it brought him so much pain. It was clear how much love he had for them and for my grandmother. He would always say ’She was a saint’. She was. I think he got that humor and joy for life from her.

He was a constant provider and seemed to always know the right thing to do. I think back on all the guidance he shared with me throughout the years and as I learned to listen to that guidance more and more my life magically got better. I guess ol’ dad was right all along. It took me a lot of years to figure that out. He was my role model for how to be a man and I couldn’t have asked for a better one.

A lot of the memories that stick with me were going to Oklahoma State games with him and cheering the Cowboys on. Upsetting the Sooners and going to Eskimo Joe’s. Going to visit Courtney in NYC when she was living there. Going to the lake with Brooke and the rest of the family. I remember going on a fishing trip with just me and him where we hired a guide to help us catch some bass. We didn’t catch a single fish and didn’t even get a bite for that matter. That didn’t matter to me. I was with my dad.