OAKVILLE
Mark Russell Holland of Oakville, Ontario lost a courageous battle with cancer in hospital on April 12, 2016 at the young age of 49. His life was all too short, but it was a full one. Mark is survived by his mother, Donalee Dunbar Forbes of Oakville, Ontario, his father, Ken J. D. Holland of Brossard, Quebec, Donalee's partner and Mark's stepfather, Daniel Gilpin of Oakville, and Ken's wife, Aldona Tusas, of Brossard. He will be sorely missed by his brother, Daniel Dunbar Holland of Toronto and sister, Alexandra Holland of Montreal. Loving nephew of John Lefferts Ramsey and Johanne Dunbar-Forbes Ramsey of Charleston, South Carolina and by his cousin Ashley Lupo (nee Ramsey) of Marco Island, Florida.

Mark was born at Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital on October 18, 1966. He attended Westwood Primary School in Oakville and then Oakville Trafalgar High School. He received his B.Sc. from Guelph University (1991) and completed his MBA at Queen's University (1995). Mark served with the Royal Canadian Navy Naval Reserve travelling to Cambodia as River Base Commander with the UN Peacekeeping Force (1992/93). He then moved to Calgary where he consulted in the oil and gas industry and taught on behalf of the Department of Defence at the University of Calgary. Mark loved basketball and played on both the Guelph Gryphons and Queen's Golden Gales teams and toured Europe with the Canadian Armed Forces basketball team.

A heartfelt thanks to the doctors and nursing staff at Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital who worked tirelessly over the past year to help Mark in his fight against lymphoma.

A funeral service for Mark will be held 1 p.m. on Friday, April 15th at Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home, 64 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville, Ontario, with interment to follow at a later date in the family plot at St. Jude's Cemetery, also in Oakville. As Mark would want it, a reception of family, friends, and neighbours will be held to celebrate his life at The Queen's Head Pub, 118 Dunn Street in Oakville immediately following Friday's service. All are welcome.