Mark Dufresne

Mark Sosthen (or Sosthene, as Mark occasionally spelled it, according to his mood), Dufresne, loving husband and brother and wonderful friend, passed away Wednesday, September 20, 2017, from a sudden ventricular cardiac arrest. A co-worker at Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) was nearby, and Mark received quick attention but could not be revived.

The story of Mark’s life began in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, on February 21, 1962, eventually becoming the middle brother among four sisters. His parents, Joyce Marie (Hymel) and Ulysse Joseph welcomed him to the family home in Luling, Louisiana. Mark graduated from Hahnville High School. He then helped his parents build a home in Thibodaux, Louisiana, where he lived while attending Nicholls State College, (the “Harvard of the Bayou”), graduating December 12, 1986.

In the early 1990s, he moved to Dallas, working for the American Heart Association, where his big heart, winning smile, and booming laugh won him the hearts of many who would become his lifelong friends (too many to list but all special to him) and one who would become the love of his life and life’s partner, Dawn.

Family history and inclination made him a Cajun, which anyone who had ever spoken to him would have quickly realized. He proved his love for New Orleans, which would be a theme in his life, by marrying there and returning often to visit family and friends. He even developed alternate persona as Boudreaux Boudreaux, The Cajun Magician. While the magic may have been minimal, the laughs definitely were not.

While working in Dallas, Mark began tubing the mighty Guadalupe with friends, family, and the ever-present ice-chest of six-packs. Mark loved to travel and would pick up and go whenever he had the chance, enjoying all each destination had to offer, particularly the local brews. Mark was always ready for an adventure and participated in mountain climbing, scuba diving, hiking, and a variety of other activities.

In 1998, he would move to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he would hone his computer skills while also refining his taste for more sophisticated brews than those that come in cans. In pursuit of this endeavor, he joined several like-minded souls, who, calling themselves Team Mimosa, had weekly practice sessions at the Flying Saucer. Like so many things Mark put his mind to, he excelled in this endeavor to the extent that he was awarded two commemorative plates at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Dawn Renae Moore, mother Joyce Marie, his sisters Camille Dufresne, Louise, (Keith) Bourgeois, Jeanne (Perry) Lauve and Simone (John) Finn, mother-in-law Hazel Knipp, sister-in-law Pam Moore, brother-in-law Brian (Elaine) Moore, and his nephews and niece, Robert Barker, Jacques (Kelly) Bourgeois, Antoine Bourgeois, Dustin and Matthew Lauve, Sean and Eryn Finn, Nigel Ruiz, and Alex Milne. In addition, Mark is mourned by Katrina (baby girl, but really papa’s girl), Lincoln, Traveler, Misty, Kokee, and Kekani, all cats who adopted Mark and who were loved deeply by him.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice in memory of Mark.