Mark C. Petersen

BERNARDSTON, MA — Mark C. Petersen, 38, of Bernardston died unexpectedly on August 3, 2022 at home. He was born in Concord, MA on May 15, 1984, the son of Richard and Mary (Leavitt) Petersen. Mark attended local schools in Greenfield and was a graduate of Greenfield High School Class of 2003. Mark was a high school athlete excelling in many areas including track, javelin at states, hockey, and football. He was captain of the hockey team his junior year and football team his senior year and brought home the most storied honor receiving the Dziekonski Award.

After high school, Mark started the college route and quickly realized it wasn’t the path he was meant to be on. He went to work in the trades and learned a great deal and gained much experience over many years at the Mowry & Schmidt Construction Company in Greenfield. Mark moved on to work 9 more years at the J.S. Rae company in Shelburne, where he was the operations field superintendent. He held many licenses and certificates including OSHA 30 and 2A Hoisting License to operate heavy equipment. He was trained and certified in Reasonable Suspicion and was fully accredited for gas certification by Northeast Gas Association. Mark considered Joe and Scott Rae, Kenny Pleasant (his supervisor) and all of the crew members at J.S. Rae his family. He truly loved these people and his work.

Mark was an outdoorsman; he appreciated time in nature. He enjoyed sharpening his bow hunting skills at various archery competitions and courses in the area. He was a former member of the Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club where he practiced target shooting and took part in many turkey shoots over the years. He was most happy hunting with his father and Uncle Billy and his many hunting buddies throughout the many hunting seasons. He also enjoyed fishing from a young age and spent many days out on the lake in Meredith, NH with his dad and grandfather. He shared his love of fishing with both Emma and Alysha teaching them everything he could about the sport he loved. He also loved ice fishing with his buddies. He was a year round camper with his family in New Hampshire. He began camping at a very young age and made numerous, cherished memories with his mom, dad, sister, grandparents, uncle, aunt and cousins. He continued camping as an adult with Nicki, Alysha and Emma at the same lake that he spent so much time at as a kid.

Mark was a member of the Bernardston Kiwanis Club since 2019 and became a valued member right away. Mark made many new friends during his time there and was proud of the contributions he made to his community. He signed up to work many events including sledding events, Scarecrow in the Park, the drive-thru chicken pot pie dinners during Covid, breakfast with Santa, community meals, food booth at the Franklin County Fair, and work bees at the park. He was always willing to help with any task (whether it be the glorious ones or the ones no one else wanted to do).

Mark was recently appointed to the Bernardston Zoning Board of Appeals. Mark was all about his family, friends, working hard, playing hard, and enjoying the little things in life. He was an outstanding man, son, brother, husband, father, uncle, and friend. In his own words “not much to it; family, friends, the outdoors, and work.” He will be forever in our hearts and forever missed by all who loved him.

Besides his beloved wife of 14 years, Nicole (Niemiec) Petersen, Mark leaves his daughter, Emma Petersen of Bernardston; a stepdaughter, Alysha Elie of Bridgewater; his parents, Richard “Rick” and Mary Petersen of Greenfield; his sister, Jessica Petersen and her fiancé Peter Santiago of Bernardston; his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Adrianne and Eric Boliski of Bernardston; his nieces and nephews, Zane and Estella Santiago and Ethan, Teagan and Jaelyn Boliski; his lifelong friends/brothers, John Richardson, Luke Aldrich, Ryan O’Neil, and Doug Poole; his beloved dogs Marly and Roo; and numerous, cherished extended family and friends.

Calling hours will be held Wednesday 8/10 from 12-3pm at the Kostanski Funeral Home, 220 Federal Street, Greenfield.

Funeral services and burial will be held at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to https://gofund.me/4660dafe. For condolences, please visit www.kostanskifuneralhom.com

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