Mark Eric Summers

Mark Eric Summers went to be with our Lord Jesus Christ on August 17th after a three-year battle with paralysis and illness.  

Mark was the son of Connie (Musser) Summers and the late Frank Milton Summers. He is survived by his mother, who resides in State College; his son, Marc, of Mechanicsburg; his daughter, Adalyn, of Bellefonte; brother Eugene and incredible caregiver and sister-in-law Cindy Summers of Mechanicsburg; brother Todd and sister-in-law Vicki Summers of Pennsylvania Furnace, PA; sister Deanna (Summers) Daniel and husband Tim of Altoona, PA; and numerous nephews, nieces, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

Mark was a graduate of Penn State.  He was also a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps and of the United States Army, the two greatest fighting forces that ever bestrode a battlefield. 

Mark grew up in Boalsburg, PA, the wellspring of some of his most cherished memories. As Mark fought paralysis following a heart operation and massive stroke, he loved reminiscing about the things that made the 1970s and 1980s in Centre County so wonderful. Our mother worked her fingers to the bone to raise four kids by herself after our father's death.  He grew up in a neighborhood full of amazing kids like Dave Eckley, Mike Miller, Scott Lindsay, Todd Holcomb, and Daren Brown who loved playing baseball or football every day in all kinds of weather.  We could walk up to the mountains and sleep on the ground overnight and not worry about ticks or Lyme disease. We would stay up late in the summer to watch WPIX-11 Yankees games commentated by Phil Rizzuto and Bill White, then stay up even longer for two Twilight Zone episodes.  We knew every creekbed for miles around and where we could find the biggest fish and crayfish.  In the fall, all was well with the world because Joe Paterno was prowling the sideline at Penn State and Chuck Noll was doing the same in Pittsburgh.  We would play daredevil games on the ice in winter, and if we fell through and got soaked, we laughed until our sides hurt and then just kept playing in 20-degree weather until our clothes were kind of dry and we had to go inside at sunset. We spent so much time with Pappy and Grandma Musser in Houserville and were so grateful to God that we had them in our lives for so long.  We used to love going with them to the Big Valley Auction Center in Milroy on Friday nights, looking at all the things for sale and eating funnel cakes and hamburgers while Pappy would wander off to speak German with the Amish.  It was such an amazing time to be a kid.

As an adult, Mark's greatest joy was spending time with Marc and Adalyn, either trying to cook like Guy Fieri or hiking the trails in Centre County.

After Mark was paralyzed in 2021, he was the beneficiary of so many wonderful acts of kindness through his 10-month hospitalization.  He and his family are eternally grateful to his coworkers at DCI Rockview for donating so much leave to him, to the doctors and nurses at Geisinger who brought him back from the brink of death, and to the employees at the State Employee Retirement System and PA Employee Benefit Trust Fund who provided enormous assistance to his brothers to get him retired and then enrolled in medical care in Cumberland County.  When discharged to home care in May 2022, the doctors and nurses at Penn State Health (Dr. Matzoni and MA Katrina Fishel) and Holy Spirit Wound Care Center (Dr. Cardinale and team) performed near miracles on Mark. Home health nurse Renee Napoli got us through the first critical months of Mark's care at home, selflessly coming over at all times of the day or night.  Nurses Sharon Stauffer, Devi Timalsina, and Crystal Flores were angels who saved us countless hours and who brightened our house every time they came through the door. Finally, we owe so much to the emergency medical technicians of Penn State Health Life Lion and the Silver Spring Ambulance Company.  They became like family to us over the last 27 months, and Paramedic Bill Hesse and his team kept Mark alive at the end long enough for Todd and our mother to call and say goodbye.

Mark and his son spent hundreds of hours in the last three years learning from Dr. John MacArthur and the late Dr. R.C. Sproul.  Memorial donations in Mark's name can be made to Grace to You Ministries at GTY.org.

All are welcome to join Mark's family at his gathering on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, from 10:30 a.m. until time of service at 11:30 a.m. at Buhrig Funeral & Cremation, 37 East Main Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. Mark’s family invites everyone to join them for a time of food and fellowship at Buhrig’s Gathering Place (next to the funeral home) immediately following the service. Graveside Service with Military Honors will follow the reception in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville.

Mark’s family has entrusted his care to Buhrig Funeral & Cremation in Mechanicsburg, (717) 766-3421. Read Mark’s full obituary, offer condolences, share stories and memories, upload photographs and videos, light a memorial candle and sign his guest book by visiting Mark’s official obituary page at Buhrig.com.