Mark De la Vega passed away on April 18, 2026, leaving behind a world richer for having known him. A carpenter by craft and a builder in every sense of the word, Mark shaped more than wood , he shaped lives, communities, and the hearts of everyone fortunate enough to stand beside him.

Mark was husband to Cynthia De la Vega, his partner of sixteen years and wife of five,  a love story built slowly and deliberately, the way Mark built everything: with care, with intention, and with his whole heart. He was equally devoted as a father. His son Christian was one of the great lights of his life, a source of immeasurable pride and tenderness. The love Mark poured into fatherhood was one of his defining acts; patient, present, and fierce in the quiet way that only the truest love can be. He was also the faithful companion of his dog Poppy, who walked beside him lovingly for seven years.

​Beyond the technical skill of his trade, Mark was an artist whose medium was the world around him. He possessed a rare "eye" an ability to see the hidden potential in a raw slab of timber or the unspoken beauty in a quiet coastline. To Mark, carpentry was not just labor; it was a form of sculpture, a way to bring order and elegance to the physical space. This artistic spirit extended to his love of travel and the ocean, where he moved with a creative’s appreciation for light, motion, and perspective. He understood that true art isn't just what you make, but how you see, and he spent his life teaching those around him to look a little closer at the beauty in the everyday.

Those who knew Mark knew a man who was most himself near the water. The ocean called to him in a way few things could, its vastness, its rhythm, its honesty. He carried that same quality within himself: something wide and deep and unhurried. And on a skateboard, he moved with that same ease , flluid, unbothered, free. Skateboarding was part of how Mark first learned to trust himself, and it never left him. It was a thread of pure joy that ran all the way through his life, a reminder that some things don't need to make sense to the world to matter deeply to your soul.

Life was not without its storms for Mark. He faced real and difficult moments, and he carried the recent, painful loss of his father, Michael De la Vega, who passed in February 2025 — a grief still fresh when Mark himself departed. Yet he never allowed these lows to define his story. A late bloomer by his own reckoning, he used that understanding not as an excuse but as an engine, choosing again and again to grow, to learn, and to show up for others even when his own road was hard.

He was a proud union member who continued throughout his life to sharpen his skills and embrace new knowledge, because he believed that learning never stops. He valued education deeply and saw it as a gift worth passing on. He loved to travel, chasing new places, new people, new perspectives. He volunteered regularly at food banks, farms, and wellness centers, because service to his community was not an obligation but a calling. He was never afraid to stand by your side in the difficult moments, and those who knew him know this well.

Mark moved through the world with a humility and kindness that was quietly extraordinary; endearing and inspiring in equal measure. He left a wake of joy and community in his path. His spirit was generous, his humor warm, and his presence the kind you feel leaving the room long after he had gone.

Preceded in death by

His father, Michael De la Vega, who passed in February 2025. Though the distance between them was far too brief, they are reunited now.

Survived by

His wife and partner of sixteen years, Cynthia De la Vega; his son, Christian De la Vega; his mother, Suzanne De la Vega; his siblings, John and Yesenia De La Vega; Paul and Rocio De La Vega his neice Mrs Gabriela and Arman Nabavian , his nepews Luca Nabavian, Nick and Zack De La Vega and Ralphie and Miranda Sanchez his De La Vega and Schutz aunt's, uncle's, and cousin, and his cherished dog, Poppy, who gave him seven years of unconditional love.

"He was never afraid to stand by your side in the difficult moments; and we are sure he is standing by us all now."

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