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I met Mark in Asheville working on Patsy Keever’s 2004 campaign for Congress. Best organizer I ever worked with and a wonderful human being. Photo is us tracking returns on primary night. I’ve kept the photo ever since. Hearing he was gone was awful. I thought Mark was still happily rescuing sea lions in Baja. Miss you, my friend.

Mark was always a great friend in high school and college. I lived with Mark in a 2 bedroom apartment during our second year at UVA. He introduced me to some nice vegetarian dishes. We had a lot of laughs that year playing golf, cramming for finals, playing scoring anagrams and just hanging out with friends. I hadn’t seen Mark since college days but talked to him once on the phone after his move to Mexico. We talked about living life outside of the U.S. I really admire Mark’s work in conservation and preservation and feel very lucky to have had him as a friend and classmate.

Here are some memories I wrote down in memoriam to Mark after he passed:

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Mark Hufford, one of my best friends from high school, passed away a week and a half ago. He was funny, smart, competitive, and kind. I always felt totally at ease over at his house – his Mom was an amazing artist and she always welcomed his friends with a beautiful smile, and his brother Steve, a year ahead of us in school, was a great “big brother” to both Mark and Mark’s friends. The highlight of my high-school days was Saturday morning football games at “Hufford Field,” a grass field in a small valley bordered by trees and houses on each side (now called Broyhill Forest Park) that was just down the street from Mark’s house. The start time was 10 AM (if my memory is correct), and often, if Mark was not there, after we ran a few plays, he would come running down the hill out from the trees and onto the field. Simple rules: 3 completes is a first down, rushers have to count 3 Mississippis before they can cross the line of scrimmage, and two hands anywhere to down the guy with the ball. I don’t know who conceived of the “Huff play,” but it was pretty much a guaranteed complete. Mark lined up as the center (i.e., he would hike the ball to the quarterback), and everyone else (receivers) lined up to his left. After Mark hiked the ball, all the receivers ran a slant to the right, and Mark ran to the left behind the line of scrimmage and then down the field. Often, he scored a touchdown (see diagram).

Mark and I spent a lot of time on the tennis court playing each other and also playing doubles together. He was better than me, and our senior year he played #3 and I played #4. Also, that was the year of the “Dawn Patrol”: every Saturday at 5:30 AM we carpooled with each other to an indoor tennis center (Fairfax Racquet Club?) to get coaching from the tennis pro there (who looked about as awake as we were) and play against other kids. One time, when it was Mark’s turn to drive, when he got to my house I was still asleep (don’t know if I forgot to set my alarm or slept through it). If it had been me, I probably would have rung the doorbell and woken up everyone in the house, but fortunately Mark had more sense than me and I still remember the sound of pebbles trampolining off the large screen of the window on my ground floor bedroom.

Mark was also my lab partner in advanced biology. More than once either he or I would raise our hand and say in jest, “Mr. Allen, I want a new lab partner please.” That was also the class where, during a lab where we were looking at microscope slides of various phytoplankton and zooplankton and looking up descriptions in our textbook, one of our classmates, who will remain anonymous (but you know who you are) asked Mr. Allen about the species turtox. Mr. Allen had to explain to ?? that Turtox was the name of the company that prepared the slides. On the next exam, on the multiple choice question that asked which phylum turtox belonged to, ?? missed that question. Mark was no slouch in academics. He was a member of the Spanish Honor Society all 3 years of high school. In advanced Math (linear algebra, etc.), Mr. Willis was puzzled because Mark and another one of our classmates, Ross Henderson, were not exactly the top scholars in our class, but when it came to taking a national standardized test that all math students at our level took, Mark and Ross trounced everyone else in our class (guess he had other priorities 😊).

Mark was one of my groomsmen when I married Stacy Selke (my former TA in Botany class) in Claremont, CA in August of 1981. Earlier that summer, he and his life love, Leslie Bland, traveled to Seattle and stayed with us for a few days in our apartment. Mark spent his career caring for animals and the planet. Among other things, he started the Carolina Kids Conservancy (https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2000/02/28/injured-wild-animals-soon-will-have-a-new-sanctuary/28112957007/), a nonprofit in North Carolina where he rehabilitated injured wildlife and educated kids about caring for wildlife (https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/2001/09/11/children-meet-once-wild-animals-kids39-conservancy-children-learn-conservation/29636637007/), was the director of PAWS of Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap (https://pawsbink.org/), worked in a wildlife refuge in Baja California Sur in Mexico, helped fundraising for Rescate de lobos marinos (Sea Lion Rescue) (https://www.rescatedelobosmarinos.org/copia-de-inicio), and was on staff at Friends of the Verde River (https://verderiver.org/).

The last time I saw Mark and Leslie was the summer of 2008 when he and Leslie were living on Bainbridge Island. It was so fun to see them again and have them meet Stacy’s and my son Chris (who had just finished his freshman year of college). There were a few mildly competitive (yeah, right) ping-pong matches along with great food and company!

Mark, thank you so much for everything you did for me and everyone else. You were an amazing soul!

I have fun memories of Uncle Mark and Aunt Leslie from when I was small and they would visit us in California. But, over the years, because of moves by my family and moves for Huff and Leslie, we lost touch. But by some crazy coincidence, as an adult, I ended up living in Washington state at the same time Huff and Leslie were there. My husband, Brett, and I got to get to know my aunt and uncle as adults and as people and I feel so lucky. Not everyone gets the chance to get to know their aunts or uncles as friends. We loved Huff’s stories and his laugh. Uncle Mark and Aunt Leslie hosted us at their home on Bainbridge Island several times and always made us feel so welcome. Sadly, my husband and I had to relocate, and Mark and Leslie moved to Baja, so our communications became less frequent. But Brett and I never forgot the fun and warm memories from the couple of years we got to spend with Uncle Mark and Aunt Leslie. We were terribly sad to hear of Uncle Mark’s sudden passing. It’s hard to imagine someone with such a lust for life and such a hearty laugh leaving us. We send so much love to Leslie and to Huff’s family. We hope all of these memories from so many wonderful people will provide comfort as you continue to grieve.

I think that there are times when the political life is a higher calling. The drive, urgency, and belief that we could make life better for those around us moved us. 2006 was my first campaign and Mark was a driving force here in Western NC. I met Mark and Leslie and a slew of other highly driven folks (Thomas Doyle)during that time. What a gracious soul. Funny, that man was funny. With Leslie, they were a powerhouse team, loving and dedicated. My fondest memories are the many simple dinners and the weedwacking times putting up those Burma Shave signs. They are still everywhere here in the West. What a tremendous loss to all those he touched. Sending you much love, Leslie!

It was 2006 and I had just graduated from ECU and was thrown into an area of the state I’ve never been. I’m in my first job, as a campaign manager, and was so lost! Enter Mark and Leslie! Mark was the Western Regional Director for the Democratic Party for NC at the time. There are no words to describe how much Mark helped me, but more importantly how he was a friend. I’ll always remember being able to bounce ideas off of him and ask for advice. I wish we stayed in touch. I will always remember Mark as someone who helped me during one of my big life changes coming into the real world of politics. Leslie, I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m sending you a big big hug! Mark, I hope you are setting up Burma Shave signs wherever you are!

So i was a teenager, visiting the Rural home of the Huffords on a summer vacation. I remember both Mark and Steve, going off early to play golf. I enjoyed their friendliness and sense of humor. I have a strong memory of Mark being a vegetarian, and watching the preparation of using home grown Zucchini’s to “stuff” them with veggy items….tofu, nuts, sauce? not really sure what , maybe rice ? But was tasty. That made an impression on me. I went on to go to a Quaker college that served both meat &. vegetarian items, as there were a significant number of vegetarian students. I followed Mark on facebook and mentioned this story to him, he admitted he wasn’t vegetarian anymore, but still worked with animal advocacy groups. I have always been concerned about environmental issues and was glad to see He and Leslie’s life and posts about life in Loretto, and advocation for a clean marine environment. A beautiful place they lived there. Blessings to all the Hufford family.
Judy Ulmschneider

One Fun Memory I have of Mark was a trip my Family and I took to Grandfather Mountain Park in North Carolina. We were camping at Grayson Highlands State Park in VA and we took a day trip to Grandfather Mountain to meet Mark and Leslie. We took a hike and I remember both Mark and Leslie hiked in flip flops. We also walked on the Swinging bridge which was very high and a little scary to walk on. Here is a photo of Mark and Ellen next to the Swinging Bridge.

I had the great fortune to meet Mark in Baja. I was always amazed with his knowledge, writing talent, openness, giving nature to humans and animals and zest for life. A life well lived and gone too soon. Cosmic mariner, destination unknown.

I just read of Mark’s passing today, May 21 2024. I am so sorry to learn he is gone, far too young. I dated Mark briefly during high school at Yorktown. He was a year ahead of me. He was the gentlest, sweetest young man. We rode bikes to Great Falls together, hiked, smooched. I visited him at UVa during Easter’s weekend of his freshman year. It was enough to put me off going to UVa! Later I watched him excel as editor of the Cavalier Daily. He was quiet, sensitive and smart. We lost touch during college, but I always have held a soft spot in my heart for him. We reconnected briefly through Facebook some years ago, and I was aware of his animal conservation / education work in North Carolina, his life in Washington State, and in Mexico. May he rest in peace. May his his loved ones find comfort in his sweet, soft-hearted soul which lives on. I wish I had photos, but I do have that clip / article from the Cavalier Daily somewhere in my archives.

I always remember that any time with Uncle Mark was a fun time. He loved to wrestle with me and Chris. I remember getting to spend time with Mark and Leslie when they lived in Asheville and we got to help with a nature show. Whenever I think of Uncle Mark I remember him “cracking eggs” on our heads and making us laugh all the time.

Fred, Nick, Linda, Mark, Steve in Arlington Va 9/2019

Mark really enjoyed reading about Mark Trail. He would sit right at the heater duct outlet under a floor lamp in our living room, and read through every comic in the Sunday Post, starting with Mark Trail, while dipping strips of buttered toast into hot chocolate.

Then, over the next sixty years or so, he lived his dream, courageously and creatively protecting wildlife in many places and ways. Though youngest in our family of five boys, Mark led boldly in charting his own unique course. Who else could have used Burma Shave-style road signs to convey political messages? Who else would tape cockroaches to the wall behind a plastic wrap cover and call them his ‘wall pets’? Who else could create a child-focused environmental education conservancy from the bare seed of an idea? Who else would help convene Turkey Bowl gatherings long after legs/arms/backs no longer welcomed the exertions?

None other than MTH, the best younger brother anyone could have!

What a disturbance in the force about a year ago. Incredible, as in still not to be believed. There’s a vital light missing from Arlington, C’ville, Gloucester, Saluda, Snowmass, Bainbridge, Loreto, Camp Verde and other locales where he and Leslie lived their great adventure. But the light he shared with all of us continues, in fond memories, tributes, and celebration of his amazing life.