Mark J Pfanenstiel, Jr

Mark John Pfanenstiel Jr. was a kind and gentle soul. Though he tried to have a rough exterior, nothing could be further from the truth. He genuinely had a heart of gold. He loved all people and all living things. He had a great attitude and a great sense of humor.

When he was a child, he loved to play around and test his parents limits. He was a joker, and got into the habit of saying the word "stupid". His mom told him that he would get a taste of fish paste if he said it, and he would push his limits by saying most of the word, "stoop..." then stopping, and sometimes laughing and running away. One time, he put a crayon in his nose, and was going to have to go to the hospital to get it removed. He panicked, and it shot out. It was blue. Recently, his oldest sister asked him, "Did you learn anything from that?" She was met with the response, "I'm gonna use a different color next time."

Mark has gone through several injuries and hospital visits as a result of his outgoing and daredevil-like pursuit of thrills. Despite this, he has always had a good attitude and made the best of every situation he faced. He never let these things stop him from doing the things he loved, he just healed and got right back to it.

Mark loved the outdoors. From the time he was in diapers, he just wanted to "ride". He was an avid longboarder, taking things to the extreme and stunting on anything that had wheels. He even loved "parkour". He was a spunky guy, always busy, and always looking for something to do. He was very athletic and became an All-Star player with Shasta Dam Area Little League in grade school. He was a very valuable player.

Mark was born June 4th, 2003, in Redding, CA, where he spent all but the last few months of his life trying to get sober from alcohol and building something better for himself. His life was tragically cut short on August 19th at 12:05am.... This world was not ready for such a kind, sensitive soul.

He was preceded in death by his Grandfather, Douglas Connor and his Aunt Tiffany Connor.

Mark leaves behind his father, Mark Pfanenstiel Sr., his mother, Fantasy Pfanenstiel, and two older sisters, Rachael and Jessica. He also leaves behind both maternal and paternal grandparents, many cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, and many, many friends.

Mark's family would like to thank his work family at PNW in Genesee, ID, for always being so supportive of him and for welcoming him into their lives and their workplace from the very beginning. And thank you to Jake and Jenn for taking him under your wing. He very much admired you both.

A celebration of life will be held to share memories, laughter and tears on September 27, 2026 in his hometown in California. Location to be determined and will update. 

Please wear teal and purple for Suicide Awareness.