Mark Steven Ambrozic born on August 13, 1956 in Salida, CO to Max Edward and Joan Joy Ambrozic. Honor, Wisdom and Love are three words that best describe how Mark lived his life and fully illustrates what was most important he share with those he loved.
Mark grew up in Englewood, CO and attended Englewood High School. He was awarded a full ride scholarship to Western State College in Gunnison, CO for springboard diving. He earned his B.S. degree in physics during his time there.
On August 10, 1985 Mark married the love of his life, Barbara Lee Webb and together they had 4 children, Max, Matthew (wife Karlye, pre-deceased), Bethany (husband Daniel Brown), Michael (fiancé Sara Sutherland).
As a grandfather, Mark cherished all the time he was able to spend with each of his grandchildren, Charles, Abigail, Dean and Zephyr.
Mark is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Marsha Kay and his grandson James. Mark leaves behind his wife Barb, children, grandchildren and siblings Michael and Robin.
Mark the family man. Mark's world was his wife, his children and his grandchildren. There wasn't anything he did in life that didn't ultimately involve or benefit his family. He spent hours and hours, helping each one of them become the best student, athlete and person they could be. He also taught his children how to fix anything, but especially cars. His father was a mechanic for Martin Marietta. He taught Mark well, and in turn he became a front yard mechanic, and a very good one at that. Many a car has been in the driveway for a repair. He was very proud of his family, and they are so proud and thankful to have had him as their husband, dad, papa.
Mark the Coach. Mark started coaching springboard diving when he was in high school, helping out with the younger kids with basic diving skills. From there, he started teaching diving lessons through Englewood Parks and Rec (which is how he met his wife to be) as well as coaching the Englewood High School dive team. He also coached several competitive year round club diving teams. A few years after Mark and Barb were married, they created their own competitive team, C&B Divers. For over six years they coached C&B together. Then he decided that he should be at home with his own children, so Barb took over the team. This doesn't mean that Mark was absent from coaching. He would still have divers over to his house to spot them on trampoline with an overhead spotting rig and help them learn new dives and perfect the ones that needed it. He had been behind the scene, ever since then. He would help anyone that asked him for help, both in the pool, in the spotting rig and in life. His newest label was the 'Zen Master' of the spotting rig.
Not only did he coach diving, he also coached baseball, and softball for his children's teams. As a matter of fact, he coached/mentored many, many people in his life and work, always imparting his non judgmental wisdom into any given situation.
Mark the employee. (from his boss Jason Lauer) As a 20-year employee of CableLabs, Mark Ambrozic contributed to and then led the rigorous program for DOCSIS® Certification of network equipment. The certification is for devices, such as cable modems, built in mass quantities for individual households and small businesses for the delivery of video and broadband connectivity services to billions of people worldwide. Without the focused technical work that Mark and his team deliver, an individual device could wreak havoc on an operator’s entire network.
In order for any one manufacturer to obtain a passing grade for certification, the device would be placed under the stewardship of Mark and his team. The global significance of this Certification process, and the importance of helping to ensure only the highest quality devices could achieve the necessary Certification for such large-scale manufacturing and deployment, was always the north-star of Mark’s professional work. The technology is robust and developed in cooperation by many talented companies and individuals. As the orchestrator of the Certification program and its processes, it is critical that the leader develops and nurtures strong relationships with all contributors. While sometimes there are devices which fail the testing, Mark was always a consummate professional in his interactions and communication with these stakeholders. For that reason, along with his technical knowledge, he is widely known and incredibly well respected in our industry.
First as a lab engineer himself and then later as Director of Wired Testing and Systems Engineering, Mark built a world-class lab, testing processes, lab engineering teams, and peer relationships that have upheld the tremendous responsibility and integrity of this program, helping to make possible what broadband internet services have become today. The impact Mark made -- on this industry and for the millions of devices that have been brought to market-- will be felt for decades to come.
Mark the outdoorsman. As a Colorado native, Mark took full advantage of all the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer. He loved camping, fishing and backpacking. If he couldn't be in the outdoors, he would go shopping at the 'mothership', Cabela's for equipment and gear for his next outing.
On behalf of Marks' family, they would like to thank his employer, CableLabs, for their unwavering support and to all his friends and family for their unwavering love.
From his children...
Max
There are not even enough words to express how much I love you and how much you will be missed. If anyone was lucky enough to come across Mark Ambrozic in their life it was truly a blessing from God, because I can guarantee no matter how small the interaction might have seemed at the time, chances are you looked back and it had a profound impact on your life. I was lucky enough to have him as my Father so everything he said or did with me had a huge impact on my life. I am so grateful for all of the wisdom, love and compassion that just flowed from his soul. Dad, I love you more than life itself and thank you for making me the man I am to be, I will strive to become like the man that you were. I love you Dad.
Matt
Life is intense sometimes and my heart has never felt so heavy. I am so very lucky for the time, lessons, wisdom, and strength that you gave me. From the philosophical conversations deep in the woods to the intellectual and emotional arguments at home, I will always remember every moment we shared together. There are so many words but they are difficult to find. It’s still so hard to believe you’re gone. You are the best Father I could have ever asked for, everything I strive to be, and I will continue to make you proud. Now go find that perfect fishing spot we always searched for I’m sure Karlye is already there, holding James, waiting for you.
Beth
I am the luckiest girl in the whole universe to have you as my Dad. I just want to hug you so badly. I wish I didn’t have to figure out how to go on without you. I will never not need you. I love you so much. You
are the most incredible human I’ve ever known. Heartbroken doesn't even begin to cover how I feel. I can’t even think of enough words to express how much we all love and miss you…. I take comfort that now sweet baby James gets to play with his papa.
Mike
Every time someone compliments me on how I act or how I deal with life, I can only remember the lessons and conversations that I had with Dad. The last 5 years felt especially unique. As I matured our conversations turned into deep dives of psychology, morality, philosophy, sociology and truth. The way I present myself is largely influenced by watching him through my life. Always stoic, never judgmental. Always true to himself. As humble as a tree, yet strong as an ox both physically and mentally. The way to see a person for who they are, is to see the impact they had on those around them while they were here. I think it’s pretty clear from the stories that so many people are sharing, that he was not only capable of taking care of his family like a hero, but that he also cared deeply about anyone who came into his life. Whether through family, work, life or play (or working on cars) if you knew Mark Ambrozic, the man, the myth, the legend, then chances are your life is just a little bit better than those who were so unfortunate to have never had the chance. Even for the things he didn’t directly teach me, for each one I can
think back to a moment, a memory, a response, a chuckle, a glare, a laugh, a sentence or even just that slight smile, that influenced my understanding of the world I find myself in. Sometimes I find myself
exhausted, sometimes frustrated and scared, sometimes elated and blissful. But never do I find myself feeling unprepared, or incapable, or lacking confidence. He taught me well and I am very blessed to
have gotten as many years with him as I did. Dad, I love you more than words can express. I just wish I could go back in time and hug you a little longer, and squeeze a little tighter, knowing that was going to be the last time I saw you. There is no object that can fill the void of you being gone, but thank you for being sure I had plenty of amazing and truly cherished memories that I can have that void partly filled with. I love you to the end and back again.
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