Kenneth Mark Pedersen, 84, died October 19 at Grinnell Medical Center after a brief illness. Known as Mark, he was born on February 6, 1928. He was the second of three sons born to Edwin Bernard Pedersen and the former Hattie Mae Jantzen. He graduated from Grinnell High School and enlisted in the US Coast Guard, in which he served as a radar technician aboard the USCGC Spencer in the North Atlantic. He said that he got seasick on every cruise. After his service, he attended Grinnell College, graduating in 1952. He accepted a position as a salesman with the Armstrong Flooring Company in Denver, where he met, and in 1955 married, the former Mary Graham at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension. They moved to Grinnell that same year where their 2 beloved sons were born. Subsequent relocations took them to Minneapolis and Chicago. Mark was a pension agent and started his own agency in Naperville IL. They lived in Wheaton IL where the family attended Trinity Episcopal Church for 34 years. Mark underwent three years of study to become a deacon, being ordained in Chicago on December 26, 1987. He served in this capacity at Trinity Church, and, upon his return to Grinnell, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Mark was a member of the Grinnell Ministerial Association, the Jaycees, president of the Senior Chamber of Commerce, and was a docent at Louis Sullivan's 1914 Merchant's National Bank in downtown Grinnell. In Wheaton, he did outreach work with homeless families and individuals, and his deaconate ministry focused on nursing home residents. He is predeceased by his parents; his older brother, Bernard Edwin; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. In addition to his wife of 54 years, he is survived by his younger brother, Peter, of Fort Collins CO; his son James, of New York NY; his son Matthew, of Seattle WA; Matthew's wife Meribeth, daughter Tessa, and son Alex; as well as many nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends. All were loved by a caring and wonderful man. A service will be announced and held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at a future date. Memorials may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 130 N. West St., Wheaton IL 60187; St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Grinnell; or the Grinnell Regional Medical Center Hospice.