A Tribute to Mark Gomez

Mark Frederick Castañeda Gómez

8.20.1951 - 3.5.2026

To read Mark Gomez’s obituary, please see the link below and feel free to share.

https://www.thomaspoteet.com/obituaries/mark-gomez

All the information about donating to Augusta Young Life in memory of Mark Gomez is included in the obituary.

A tribute written by his daughters, Larisa Dené and Bria Nicole.

Where to begin when sharing the most devastating news we never wanted to receive ourselves. Our superhuman Padre Gomez went to be with the Lord Jesus Christ on Thursday, March 5th at 1:33 AM. His death was sudden and shocking. No one saw it coming. He’s been an active and highly energetic man his entire life. He had just run 4 miles a few days before his passing, and had gone snow skiing two weeks prior in North Carolina. He was only 74 years young.

About his passing…

At a beautiful cabin in Fletcher, North Carolina, he and our mom and our sister Aunie met up with Mom’s sister Kelly and brother-in-law Andy. After traversing a steep and winding hillside to arrive at the cabin, our dad helped carry in a suitcase and noticed he was feeling pain in his stomach. He thought he might’ve pulled a muscle and went to lay down. After a brief rest, he woke up and told the crew he felt better and was ready to go adventure through the area. It was at that moment that Mom heard him cry out in pain. They rushed upstairs to the loft where he had collapsed back onto the bed. He was not responding. Our Uncle Andy, the hero, administered chest compressions and CPR for 15 minutes without a break. It took the paramedics that long to arrive due to the long trek up the steep hillside. They also administered CPR and did everything they could do for another 15-20 minutes before determining that he needed to be taken to Advent Hospital in Fletcher. They had not been able to revive him or to obtain a pulse. Once Dad arrived at the hospital, they were able to revive his pulse and stabilize him. However, he never regained full consciousness. Mom was able to go back into the room at that point. She put us daughters (Larisa and Bria) on the phone and we spoke into his ears. He did open his eyes briefly, but Mom said they were unfocused. He was then airflighted to a Trauma One hospital in Asheville called Mission Hospital. Mom and the crew followed in the car. Larisa drove three hours from Augusta, Georgia to be there. Bria left St. Pete, Florida and drove 10 hours through the night to arrive at 8 o’clock the next morning. By the time Bria arrived, the news was not good. The Cardiac ICU doctor explained that Dad’s organs were shutting down despite the life support being dialed up to maximum capacity. His brainwaves were very concerning and the medical team highly suspected brain injury from the prolonged CPR. Even if they could sustain him on life support, he might not be the same Mark we knew. It became evident as more family members arrived, such as Mark’s brother Gabe, that things were taking a turn for the worst. Two other sisters were on their way. Alicia was driving from Florida and Elena was flying from Oregon. The doctor made it clear that our dad might not survive long enough for his sisters to see him alive. We decided to make phone calls to some of the family to give opportunities for them to speak into Dad’s ear. We had heard that hearing is one of the last senses to go. Both of the sisters in transit got a chance to speak into his ear on the phone, along with others. We found this to be very healing for us as we heard the incredible testimonies of those who were thanking Dad for the godly influence he had been in their lives and for the way he loved others so well. We did ask him to hang on for his two sisters, and he did. Alicia arrived around 8 PM and Elena arrived after 11 PM on Wednesday, March 4th. Because the nurses were keeping Dad on the max life support that whole time, we had a feeling that once life support was removed, he would pass quickly. And that’s exactly what happened at 1:33 AM.

Here are the people who surrounded him while worship songs were playing and he took his last breaths: Mark’s wife of over 51 years Glenda, his two daughters Larisa and Bria, his sisters Elena and Alicia, and his brother Gabe.

His sister-in-law Kelly and brother-in-law Andy had taken our special needs sister Aunie back to the cabin as we all knew it would be too traumatic for her to be at the hospital for Dad’s passing. They took such wonderful care of Aunie.

From the hospital, we all went to a nearby hotel to rest and then we met at the cabin in Fletcher. It turned out to be a blessing because we spent time in the place where Dad had his final conscious moments. It had a beautiful vista, and it was healing to walk through the rooms and sit on the porch together.

From the moment we met with the Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, God lined up everything for Dad’s burial. His body had already arrived on Friday morning to the funeral home. According to his wishes, he would be buried in a plain pine casket. Our next appointment was immediately afterward at Westover Cemetery, a non-profit, where we were shown a lovely spot as close to the Augusta National as he could have possibly been buried. We know he would’ve loved the fact that he was buried next door to where the Masters golf tournament is held. Mom decided to purchase two spaces so that when her time comes to go home to be with the Lord, she will be cremated and placed beside her beloved husband. A surprising discovery confirmed for Mom that we were in the right spot because the neighboring gravesite had a woman named Glenda with Mom’s same birthday, the day and month. We all saw it as a sign from the Lord. Immediately after securing the plot, we learned Pastor Marty Baker was in the area. He is the Stevens Creek Church lead and founding pastor, which is where Mom, Dad, Aunie, Larisa, and her daughters attend. Dad had made a point to meet Pastor Marty as soon as they moved to Augusta 8 years ago, and they had formed a friendship. At Dad’s favorite coffee shop, Rooted, we sat down and went over the burial service with Marty. From there, practically everything was arranged. On Saturday, we had the opportunity to receive meals from Dad and Mom’s small group. We’ve been well fed ever since thanks to the generosity of so many friends. On Sunday, we made the decision to attend church services. Our dad would not have liked to think that he kept us from going to church, so we decided to go in his honor. It was a wonderful time of worship and a powerful message of hope from Pastor Marty. We’re all so glad we went.

The private family burial service took place at Westover Memorial Park in Augusta, Georgia, on Monday, March 9th at 10 AM. The intimate ceremony included Mark’s wife Glenda, daughters Larisa, Andriana, and Bria; Mark’s sister Elena, sister Alicia and brother-in-law Warren, brother Gabe; Glenda’s sister Kelly, brother-in-law Andy, and their daughters Megan and Allie; Mark’s son-in-law Philip and granddaughters Eliana and Annabelle; Mark’s son-in-law Brian and grandson Luke; close friends and neighbors Sarah and Cayden. The men carried the casket up a short slope to the burial plot, including grandson Luke. During the service, Grovetown campus worship pastor Jordan Narkates of Stevens Creek Church sang two songs with his guitar: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” which is the song that was playing when Dad took his last breath, and “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me. Pastor Marty gave his remarks and Bria read a short poem by a local poet. Everyone was then given a chance to approach the casket and say their goodbyes. It was a closed-casket ceremony. Several flower arrangements had been delivered by family who live in Oregon: Mark’s brother, the Ev Gomez family; Mark’s sister, the Marita Cox family; and Mark’s sister, the Angie Welty family. A fourth arrangement had been sent by the Quier family, Mark’s cousins.

A Celebration of the Life of Mark Gomez will take place on Saturday, May 2nd at 1 PM at Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Georgia. All are welcome to come celebrate our amazing dad. Address: 600 Stevens Creek Rd, Augusta, GA 30907. The service will be online. Details to come.

Finally, we wanted to share that we are just as shocked as everyone else to learn about our dad’s sudden heart attack which led to cardiac arrest and his eventual passing less than 48 hours later.

Here are some of the details we found out from the hospital.

The heart disease they found was severe and advanced. We had no idea. Mom had no idea. As far as we knew, our dad had no idea. He’d been healthy all of his life. At 74 years young, he was taking no medications and only a few supplements. The doctors explained upon his arrival to Mission Hospital in Asheville that he would have required open-heart surgery in order to survive. However, Dad never recovered enough to allow for that surgery to take place. He continued to decline despite the hospital’s best efforts.

Mark ran at least 9 marathons from the time he turned 50, including the 2018 Boston Marathon which he qualified for at age 66 with a 4-hour qualifying time. He continued to run half marathons with daughter Bria over the past several years. She did notice (but didn’t think much of it since her dad was in his 70’s, after all, and might finally be slowing down a little bit) that he had joined her 10- to 12-minute-mile pace rather than continuing at his previous 8-minute-mile average. He also just wanted to stay with her during their runs and they enjoyed several special races together in recent years.

Our dad was a man of many talents, but most of all, he had a heart after God’s own heart. His desire was that the gospel of Jesus Christ would be shared with everyone he knew. We, his daughters, will continue in our father’s footsteps now that he is gone. He shaped us in so many ways. He and our mom taught us how to be prayer warriors, and so Larisa and Bria continue to pray together for family, friends, the cities we live in, our states, our country, and all the nations of the world.