It is with great sadness and a very aching heart that I inform you that Monday we lost a good friend and a valued voice on our board with the passing of Mark Brown.
I received the following email from a mutual friend, Reid Nelson, on Tuesday:
Though details are very much incomplete, I do know that Mark was found at his home yesterday by his wife, Cindy. At this time the cause of death has not been determined officially, but from what I’ve been able to learn, Mark may have died from an overdose of prescription medication.
As you may have known, Mark suffered from depression and had been on medication for years. Though I don’t pretend to understand this terrible mental illness, I know that it is just that, an illness like any other disease. And just like we cannot choose not to get the flu or a cold, an individual has no control over depression. But, whereas we can treat and ultimately cure many physical ailments, sadly, there is only treatment but rarely ever a cure for manic depression. For as long as I knew Mark, he fought very hard to battle the demons of depression. And through it all, he was able to control the illness and put together a very successful career. I don’t know Mark’s complete résumé off the top of my head, but I know that much of his professional career was driven by his deep love for golf. It was that passion that caused him to resign his position as a financial analyst for GE to move to Hilton Head Island and start a small publication called Golfers’ Guide some 20 or so years ago. That led to his founding of Southern Links – now Links Magazine - which debuted with the March-April 1988 issue. More recently, he had worked as a consultant to several high-profile real estate developments, including Berkeley Hall, Black Diamond Ranch and others, advising them on all aspects of the business – from golf course design and landscaping to member services and communication. Mark had an incredible “eye” for the game. He was a devoted student of golf architecture and an overt proponent of classic, strategic design convention. His expertise in this area led to several consulting jobs with various “name” properties. A developer in his native Pennsylvania was so impressed with the work Mark had done, he hired him to design the first course at a resort in the Pocono Mountains. Jack Frost National, Mark’s first original design, is scheduled to open later this year.
Mark’s thoughts and philosophy regarding golf course design and recent trends within the design business had grabbed the attention of many throughout the golf community. Within the last few months, his budding design business had been the subject of articles in the Hilton Head Island Packet newspaper, Golfweek Magazine, Travel & Leisure Golf, The Augusta Chronicle and even the New York Times, as well as other publications. After reading the piece in The NY Times, Jim Furyk was so impressed with Mark’s design philosophy that he contacted Mark just a couple of weeks ago, offering to lend his design assistance and his name to the firm, if Mark thought it would help him and partner Terry Legree attract more potential clients.
It came as a complete shock when I was informed of Mark’s death. Apparently, the internal struggle with depression became too much for him. Years of battling a relentless demon ended with his apparent suicide on Monday.
At this time, I have no details about services, memorials or anything. I just wanted to let you all know that we have lost a good friend. Please keep Cindy and their three children in your prayers as they face the greatest loss of all – the loss of a devoted husband and father.
My heartfelt prayers go out to Cindy and the Brown children. What a terrible tragedy.