Mark David Richards, 48, of Morganton, passed away on Friday, January 26, 2024 at his home in Morganton following a battle with cancer. He was born June 8, 1975 in Hickory, NC. Mark was a graduate of Freedom High School and attended UNCA before assuming a career in audio engineering. Mark began volunteering at Merle Fest when he was still in high school and worked there for many years. He made his home in Nashville, TN sometimes working with the Grand Old Opry. Mark often expressed what a wonderful life he had lived traveling the world working with many talented musicians and making many friends. He played several musical instruments and enjoyed playing old time and traditional music. Mark was preceded in death by his father Rev. Frank G. Richards, III. and his Papaw John Collins and Mamaw Annie Upton Collins of Hildebran and grandparents Frank and Ruth Richards of Hickory. Survivors include his mother Margaret Collins Richards and brother Kenneth Edward Richards; aunts Camilla Collins, Maxine Collins Johnson, Jane Bramham, Shaun Schoep Collins and uncle Ron Collins; cousins Rhonda Collins Sisk (Rick), Rayna Collins Prewitt (Travis), and Eric D. Johnson (Lauren) and their children Avery and Brandon Sisk; Syndey, Sean, and Sophia Prewitt; Katherine and Caroline Johnson. A short public graveside memorial service will be held Saturday, February 3 at 1:00 at Fairview Cemetery in Hickory, NC. Heritage Funeral Service and Crematory of Valdese is serving the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Amorem Hospice, 1721 Enon Rd, Valdese, NC 28690.
Margaret and Kenneth we are truly sorry for your loss. I remember Mark could tell when someone could not sing when he was five. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Mark was one of the finest acoustic music engineers we ever had working with us at SE Systems. Many years at MerleFest, IBMA Awards Shows, system engineer on the national “Down from the Mountain” and “Great High Mountain” tours, and monitor engineer on many Alison Krauss & Union Station w/ Jerry Douglas tours.
He was a grounded guy you could always depend on. His smile, personality, & energy was ever present.
We miss him as a a fellow crew member, but miss him much more as our friend.
Met Mark many years ago when he became a MerleFest stage volunteer and we remained friends. He brought so much joy into my life as he shared his adventures and I watched him become a such a great audio engineer. Thinking of Mark’s family and friends. He was absolutely the “best of the best!”
Martin Short and I feel deeply about the loss of Mark, who was our expert sound engineer for our live show for many years. He was always professional, quick on his feet, courteous, and did an outstanding job managing our audio needs. We will miss him very much.
Steve Martin
Mark made many great friends in many great places, obviously. He was instrumental in me learning guitar in high school, and the same string bass he played in high school is upstairs in my home – and my daughter is learning to play it. A life well lived. I’m sure his family is grateful to know he made an impact on people well-known and people hardly-known alike.
Kenneth, i am so sorry for the loss of your brother. You and your mother are in my thoughts and prayers. I pray God gives you peace and comfort during this difficult time.
Always a great friend growing up. Never knew him to not have a smile on his face.
I am proud to have called Mark my friend. He always had a story to tell and ear to hear your stories. He had a big heart and I rarely saw him when he wasn’t smiling and happy. A very talented person in many ways. Mark never did anything half way. Whatever he did he took it and himself seriously as he focused in. He had a lot of hobbles and could build and fix anything. I was always very envious of him in that respect. We talked a lot and he shared about his family and where he was from. He loved his family and always spoke highly of them. He was happy he was able to be taken care of by his family, it meant everything to him.
Dear Margaret, Kenneth, I had the pleasure to meet you both and I wish to present you our heartfelt condolences as well as to your family.
Mark, it was always such a pleasure to meet and have a talk with you in our front yards. I just wish we could have spend more time and maybe share a good meal together.
Always a great neighbor, the smile on your face always brightened up my day,
My friend, may you rest in Peace, may your family and your friends find solace in the love you shared around you.
I will miss you.
Hugues
We met him in Nashville. Me and my mom lived with him for 2 years in his house, we lived in the downstairs part. One of my favorite memories was he had a leaf blower and he would blow it in my face and play with me in the yard all the time. I loved him very much. we miss him so much and we pray for him that he has a wonderful time in heaven. ❤️
I met Mark when he was still in college. He became our stand up bass player in our string band. We became family then. I watched him grow to become a fine man with a huge heart. There is such a wide circle of people who were touched by his friendship, love, music and humor. Mark made the world better. I am wishing for Mark’s mother and Ken and aunts and whole family grace and space for grieving.
Margaret, Kenneth, and family,
I only met Mark once when I went with his Mom to an Alison Krauss concert However, I felt like I knew him. His Mom loved him dearly and was so proud of his many accomplishments and the incredible
man he became.
May the peace and love of God that passes understanding, be with you. My prayers and thoughts are with you.
Susan Pollpeter
My deepest sympathies to Margaret, Kenneth, his friends and the many artists and crews he worked with on the road throughout his career. He touched all of us.
As a fellow North Carolinian and lover of bluegrass and old time music, we connected as soon as we met. It’s impossible to think of him without seeing his smile. Sometimes he’d pop into the office and his smile alone could change my day.
His mother was his guiding light. He always wanted to make her proud. He was terrific with kids, easily getting on their level, quietly instilling values in them from a young age.
He will be missed here on earth.
I
I’m so glad that I got to share a little time on this earth with Mark. What a calming and kind and positive spirit he was. There are so many funny stories I remember from my college days when he and Kenn and I were hanging out. The great road trips to Myrtle Beach and then Davenport to visit Kenn. Anytime with Mark was full of good music, good conversation and that overriding sense of peace he carried with him. I was so proud of the great career and life he crafted for himself and I’ve always loved hearing Margaret and Kenn’s stories of his travels and travails that they tell with evident pride and love. It’s so hard to say goodbye so soon to such a wonderful soul. I truly hope that I and all who loved him are able to feel some of that peace as we grieve and remember him. Thanks for all the great memories Mark and for all the stories you gave that I’ll keep sharing the remainder of my days.
To a great cousin, you will be missed. I am blessed to have seen you two years ago in Nashville. Your talent goes along away. You will be missed by so many.
David and I are so sorry for your loss. We will never forget meeting you both after a show in North Carolina, when Mark was first working with us. We have nothing but wonderful memories of those early days with Mark, his obvious talent and enthusiasm, his joy at the adventure, and his deep love of the music. Sometimes on a day off I would discover he had not even left his room, but played banjo all day with a pillow stuffed under the head so as to not annoy the neighbors. A kind man. A sweet man. Please know that our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you today.
With love and deepest condolences,
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Nashville, Tenn.
I have many wonderful memories of my friendship with Mark, from when he travelled with The Freight Hoppers and from knowing him the years since. He was always a good friend to me and a kind, loving soul. My favorite engineer to work with, the Freight Hoppers would not have been the band they were without him in the 90’s. He always turned us up loud and it was so great to know he would make us sound our best. Mark was always fun and positive to travel with and we had so many good times. My heart goes out to his family and all who knew him. Gone too soon, farewell my friend.
I met Mark on the Grand Ole Opry when I was working on the stage crew and he was an audio tech. Always a joy to be around and we had a common love of clawhammer banjo and old time music. Always loved cutting up with him and he always had an interesting story to tell. Rest in peace my friend and you will be sorely missed.