Mark Michael Moloznik

Mark Michael Moloznik was born on July 25 th , 1955, in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, where he spent almost all of his 64 years.  He died peacefully in his sleep on June 18 th in his home, less than a city block from his first home.  Mark attended school in Philadelphia, starting at St. James and Henry C. Lee Elementary Schools, then on to Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School and Central High School for Boys (at the time), before attending the University of Rochester to study Russian History. A bright and creative person, Mark was never one for the straight, traditional path through life.  It started at a young age, when he lived in the “tower” atop the family home at 42nd and Locust Street, and continued throughout his life.

At Rochester, Mark took pride in his position as the wine steward at the faculty club and thereafter as a waiter and wine steward in Avalon, New Jersey.   His first job after college was working in propertymanagement in Boston, Massachusetts for several years.  Following his return from Boston toPhiladelphia, Mark stepped in to assist in a family business at a historic inn near Stroudsburg, PA – TheHenryville House.  This was both an exciting and challenging time for Mark as he honed his ‘hospitality’skills to a fine point while facing significant challenges as the Poconos became a less populardestination.  After more than five years of hard work leading the family enterprise, he returned toPhiladelphia, eager to engage in his ultimate career in real estate and property management.

His early interests included photography, music, and collecting comics. He was a voracious reader all his life.  Two things he enjoyed very much were taking things apart without a clear plan to put them back together and saving the end of a good book so he could savor it. As a young man he travelledextensively, taking trains across Europe and an infamous "four-month" cross-country trip in a 1967 Volkswagen Fastback to the Northwestern United States with his brother David J Moloznik, where extensive hijinks ensued.

Mark spent most of his life living in the community of his birth and was extensively involved in the entire neighborhood.  He was very active in the Spruce Hill Fair for more than a decade, becoming integral to the entire set up and breakdown of the fair, leading a slim team of volunteers to help sustain this important tradition in the community.  Mark always embraced the diversity of University City, staying rooted in his old network of longtime friends, while always having the time and energy to make new ones. Mark’s most enduring qualities were his generosity to others, his free spirit, and his acceptance of every person. Mark remained devoted to his parents, Betty and Joe, his entire life and was the oldest of six siblings: just 15 months older than David, then Karen, Douglas, Beth and Bruce. He loved his parents, siblings, all of his nieces and nephews and their babies, and his entire family loved and cherished him. While he worked in real estate for 40 years, his legacy is the care and attention he invested in looking after people – family, friends and the people of his community in University City.  But most importantly, Mark pitched the “biggest tent” we ever saw – in which he welcomed every soul he ever met.

The family kindly requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Mark's name to either of the following charities:

Philabundance : www.philabundance.org

     A charity in southeast Pennsylvania focused on alleviating hunger and food insecurity

The Humanity Gifts Registry : www.hgrpa.org

    An organization that manages donation of bodies for medical education and research

Christopher Norton, his eldest nephew expressed his memories: “Uncle Mark was a true American original.  A dreamer with a brilliant mind, he was an untangler of the mysteries of the universe, a one-man academy of obscure knowledge, and a really solid companion for a good long sit on the porch at the crack of dawn, late at night, or any time in between.

The greatest legacy he left for the next generation of the Moloznik family, for all his beloved nieces and nephews, is this: Mark taught us that no matter your struggles within, you can still be a source of joy and love for the kids you love the most, even (or perhaps especially) as an adult with no children of your own. Mark shared the softer side of his life with me and my sisters and my cousins. He cared for us in a manner that was, like so much of his personality, uniquely his own. Now it’s on us to keep untangling the mysteries of the universe in his honor, to do justice to his memory with our own love for the next generation.”