My friendship with Mark Mazzare dates to 1974 when our parents met through work and then through our shared faith and membership at a local church. Growing up in church activities, school, and neighborhood sports, Mark and I played tennis together, attended countless mission trips, were active in Boy Scouts and even vacationed together with our families in the mountains of New Mexico.
Our homes were situated within walking/biking distance to each other’s and to our church, and I have fond memories of the short walk to his parents’ home, where his mother still lives today. The Mazzare’s created a welcoming spot for friends and Bruce and Carol treated me like family.
We were both raised by strong, loving fathers who modeled a life of integrity in all they did, showing sincerity for their clients and offering time and attention to their families. Perhaps that is what has has bound us together as friends, as we both benefited from teaching and encouragement from each other’s fathers, as well as our faith in Jesus Christ.
Mark is much like his dad, Bruce. Smart, driven, full of ideas and a curiosity for life. His competitive drive, mixed with love for others, has served him well and I suspect will continue to for his lifetime.
Mark attended medical school and while he has always lived away from Waco, my friendship with his sister and parents allowed me to keep up with his growing family and career. I’ve met Holly countless times, as well as their children, and can see a reflection of Mark in the boys and sweet kindness in their daughter. I’ve always respected and so appreciated Mark and have felt that reciprocation toward me. He has been a faithful physician to his patients, striving to serve their medical needs and adapt to their unique concerns.
Mark is not merely a childhood friend, marked by memories of the past, but a friend today who I esteem, value, and appreciate. He has been transparent with me about his situation, showing genuine humility and a keen self-awareness. We meet often to discuss and pray together about his future, the impact on his family, and God’s faithfulness to them all.
I met Mark Mazzare in freshman biology class in the fall of 1985. At our university in Oklahoma, we were the only two Texans, and so we quickly became good friends and study partners. Our sophomore year, we became roommates and roomed together for a period of 5.5 years, extending into Medical School at UT Health (San Antonio). As Mark grew up in Waco and I near Houston, I often stopped by his house on the drive home. My friendship with Mark and affinity for Waco led to me moving to Waco in 1996, six months after Mark was the best
man in my wedding. I was also drawn to Waco to Mark’s church – Highland Baptist Church,
where my family now attends and I serve as a deacon.
You learn about everything there is to know about a person when you live with them for 5 years.
We attended chapel together and talked about our beliefs. He introduced me to music I had not
known which still inspires me in my faith journey. We were simultaneously saddened and
amused by a physics professor we shared who had students sign a statement with each test,
attesting that we had not cheated. We both agreed that cheaters probably didn’t mind lying
either. We both agreed that there are no secrets in life. God sees everything and therefore we
can’t “get away” with any secret sin. We were determined to not have any sex partners outside
of marriage because we had seen the successful marriages of our parents and wanted that as our
most important goal in life, outside of serving God and secondarily becoming a physician. And
so we would both consider the 23 and 29 years respectively that we’ve been married to be our
greatest achievement, with our families as our greatest treasure.
Although we’ve mostly lived in separate cities since medical school graduation, our paths have
crossed often as I live a mile from his parents’ house. I was in his wedding in 2001 to Holly. I
noted the symbolism and thought that he and Holly gave to their childrens’ names. They named
their oldest named Zoe Grace, with Zoe being the Greek word for life and Grace related to the
Latin word for favor or blessing. They named their second child, Brazos, after the river that
literally connects Waco and College Station and figuratively joins their two families – with Mark
being from Waco and Holly being a Texas Aggie from the Bryan/College Station area. In 2020
and 2022, my youngest two sons received their Boy Scout Eagle Scout awards. In those
moments of celebration for our family, I saw Mark’s name listed as an Eagle Scout from Troop
308 back in 1982, and texted him a screenshot of the program.
I know that the young man who was recognized for his community service in 1982, that I met in 1985, who married Holly in 2001, is the same Mark I now know in 2025. I would trust him completely as a person of truth and integrity. Besides pleasing God with his life, his greatest desire is to be with his family and see them flourish.
