Mark Edward Putman was born November 19, 1957 in Hayward, California to Edward and Nedra Putman. Mark was 63 when he passed away at his home in Helena following a heart attack. Mark and his family moved to Bozeman when he was six years old and loved in Bozeman while his father attended Montana State University. The family later moved to Klamath Falls, OR where Mark attended junior high and high school, and discovered his love for rowing and music. Mark attended university of Washington, studied economics and graduated in 1982. He was part of the crew team while attending the University of Washington; he made life-long friends after hours of rowing and maybe a bit of beer drinking too! One of Mark's life highlights was New Year's Eve in Reno, 1980 with his crew buddies; "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter was singing, and she told Mark he had "enthusiasm" and he reminded us of that story all the time. Mark remained passionate about rowing even though he was landlocked a good deal of his life. While working for Boeing, Mark worked in the top-secret program that built the B2 stealth bomber for the United States government and met the love of his life, Karen. They met the first day Karen had security clearance. They soon started dating and were married within a year. Karen and Mark lived in the Seattle area where they welcomed Aaron and Taylor in their family. In 1992, they moved to Karen's hometown of Helena, Montana and soon added Lilly, and then Emma, into their lives. Their four children brought such blessing to their lives. Mark and Karen purchased Montana Granite from Karen's parents and operated the business for many years. In 2015, Mark started his own home inspection company, Timber Ridge Home Inspections and forged many great relationships in the Helena community. One of Mark's life projects was completing a memoir entitled "Both Oars in the Water," chronicling life lessons he learned through rowing. Mark actively served in his local church and made many life-long friends that felt more like family through his faith community. Mark is survived by his wife Karen of 32 years, children Aaron, Taylor, Lilly and Emma, his mother Nedra Putman, sister Charlotte Gardner and brother Steven Putman. Karen's mother Joyce Ludtke, Mark's brother-in-law Doug, his wife Julie and their children Sarah (Rob) and Lauren (Billy).