Mark Oliver Stemple

Mark Oliver Stemple was born on September 9, 1947, in Washington, Pennsylvania to Robert and Dale Stemple, the first of their four children. Mark graduated from East Central High School in Tulsa, and then went to the University of Tulsa before joining the Marines in February 1967. While in the Marines, he would become an air traffic controller. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan where he met his future wife, Kazue in 1968. Mark joined the Soka Gakkai in April 1969. He wholeheartedly supported SGI and later Soka University of America throughout the rest of his life.

Mark and Kazue married and had their first child, Dean, in 1970. After Mark returned from Vietnam, he finished his service with the Marines in 1971 and lived in Orange County, California. Kazue and Dean arrived from Japan in July 1971. In 1972 Mark and Kazue welcomed a daughter, Bobbie.

Mark joined the FAA as an air traffic controller in June 1973, and the family moved to Palmdale. He was a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates fan and supported Oklahoma football. He loved classic cars and going to car shows. He was a member of the Corvair Club and after he bought a Cushman scooter, he joined the Cushman club. Mark loved technology and bought bunches of new devices. He loved watching movies and took the family to see all the blockbusters.

Mark and Kazue moved to Oklahoma in December 1995 to become an instructor at the FAA Academy. He was very charitable and supported Veterans organizations, Native American schools, and animal organizations. He loved dogs and grew to love cats.

Mark was preceded in death by his mother and father, Clara Dale and Robert Moreland Stemple, brother, Robert Alan Stemple, and a niece, May Stemple.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Kazue; son, Dean, daughter and her husband, Bobbie and Steve Mortan; grandson, Kai; sister and her husband, Christie and Ken Horner; brother and his wife, David and Lily Stemple; nephew, Sean Stemple; and nieces Kimberley Wingate and Courtney Norriss.