MARKIAN LAPCHAK

Markian Lapchak

02/13/1945 – 05/01/2024

Mark (“Marky”) was born in Detroit, Mi. on Feb. 13, 1945 to Mryoslav and Lubina (Shesty) Lapchak. He passed away at home on Wednesday May 1st, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. He was a quiet, generous, thoughtful, gentle soul with a silly sense of humor and a simple and pure heart who centered his life around his love for and devotion to our Lord, followed by his intense love for his children and grandchildren. He had a deep and unending desire to be the best dad he could be.

Mark attended St. Hugo of the Hills Elementary School, the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, Notre Dame University and Wayne State University. Mark proudly served in the U.S. Air Force as an Electronics Instructor from 1967 to 1970 and was stationed in Colorado Springs and Biloxi, MS. While stationed in Colorado Springs, Mark met the love of his life, Sibyl Jane Hinkley (Jane), who was in Colorado Springs from St. Louis, attending business school. They were married in a Catholic Mass in Biloxi, MS. on August 2nd, 1969.

After leaving the Air Force in 1970, Mark received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. In 1971, he moved his family to Colorado where he spent the rest of his life. Mark and Jane raised their five children in Centennial, Co., where he was very proud to be able to provide for his family and allow his children to have a full time, stay at home mom. He raised his family by participating in their activities, swimming, camping, skiing day trips to the mountains and being just plain silly old dad. The saddest day of his life was the day his dear Jane died. He carried his grief at her passing for many years.

One of Mark’s favorite pastimes was tinkering with, maintaining, and fixing cars. He acquired his love of (fast) cars while working in his Uncle Terence’s auto parts store in Detroit. His favorite car, that held so many fond memories for him, was the family vehicle called “The Silver Bullet.” It was a silver 1977 Chevy B200 van that he had modified to the likes of a moving hotel room to accommodate long cross-country trips with his family. His other favorite pastime was spending 25 years refereeing soccer games in the Denver metro area.

Mark’s true north in life was his Catholic faith and love of our Lord. He had a deep spiritual experience in the summer of 1981 that completely changed the course of his life … a life that was God-Centered and changed the very core of his being. Priorities for both Jane and he shifted from the pull of the secular world to a deep Christian lens and way of life.

Core to his being, was his drive to find solutions to problems and provide for his family, so in the 1990’s, when he was laid off from Metrum, he started his own very successful FCC testing business called Rocky Mountain Radiometry.

Mark married his second wife, Mary Truebe, on January 14th, 2006 at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church in Littleton, CO. In 2011, Mark retired and enjoyed his retirement by traveling and spending time with his grandchildren. Mary and Mark loved to visit various Marian shrines in the U.S. and abroad. They visited Medjugorje several times and Lourdes, France last year. In 2015, Mark and Mary settled on a small ranch in Ramah where they raised chickens and cattle. Here, Mark loved the challenge of ranch life by using his creative and engineering skills to build a ground-mounted solar system, greenhouse, chicken houses, storage buildings, and electric fencing and irrigation systems. He loved being surrounded by and caring for the animals, taking great childlike delight in watching their “nature.”

In the last several years of his life, Mark reunited with his first hobby: Ham Radios. He was part of a national organization (CORAC) that setup a Ham radio network across the United States. Mark acquired his Ham radio license at just 12 years old and continued this hobby until his mid-twenties.

Mark is survived by his wife, Mary (Truebe), his children Philip, Jennifer (Milo Miller), Christina, Sarah (Zach Lashley) and Alicia, his grandchildren, Arianna and Milo Miller, his sister Daria (David) Potts, his aunt, Vera Eyre, and cousin Pamela (Patrick Martin), Sister-in-laws Christine Truebe, Therese Truebe, Barbara McLaughlin and brother-in-laws Joseph and Peter Truebe. He will be fondly remembered by his nephews Matthew (Celine) Potts and Mark Potts, great niece Katherine, and great nephews Henry, Amadis and Sorel.

Mark was preceded in death by Jane Lapchak, his parents Myrosloav and Lubina (Shesty) Lapchak, grandparents Philip and Ahaphia (Yerema) Shesty, his uncles, Terence Shesty and David Eyre.

Rosary/Viewing: 6:00 p.m. Thursday, May 23 at Our Lady of Victory Church, Limon, Colorado with reception following.

Funeral/Viewing: 8:00 a.m. Friday, May 24-Viewing, at 9:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy Funeral at Transfiguration of our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church, 4118 Shoshone St, Denver, CO with reception following.

Interment: 12:45pm: Ft. Logan National Cemetery, 4400 W Kenyon Ave, Denver, CO.