Mark Edward Faulkner 5/4/1960 - 6/14/2022

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." Edward AbbeyIt is with great sadness that we write about the passing of Mark Faulkner, husband, son, father, brother, friend, and teacher extraordinaire. Mark passed away at home in Auburn, CA on 6/14/22, from a glioblastoma brain tumor. Mark was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and prior to settling in Auburn, he attended grammar schools in Georgia and Japan. He also attended Del Campo High School where he was a rock star basketball player. He moved to Auburn with his wife, Juliet, in 1988, to help his friend open his bike store, The Bicycle Emporium. Mark was an avid cyclist and racer. In addition to cycling, Mark was a mountaineer and spent a good deal of his free time either hiking, skiing, climbing or camping in his beloved high country with his family or solo. Mark's greatest climbing adventure was up Aconcagua in South America. He climbed often and took not only his family up many mountains but also shared his joy with some of his students. Mark also shared a great passion for fly fishing. Fishing provided Mark with his much-needed Zen moments and also engaged his mind. Mark was a lover of nature, passionate about protecting the planet, and spent most of his free time outdoors traveling about on grand adventures in his 1987 VW Syncro, Oda.Mark was a beloved teacher at Placer High School where he taught AP government, economics and psychology until he retired in 2020. He was the snowboard coach for 23 years and president of the teacher's union for several terms. The hundred of letters and tributes Mark received over the years from his students attest to the impact he had on many young lives: MF, Faulknation, Faulk Diddy and Faulkster are just a few of the monikers of endearment that his students bestowed upon him.Most importantly, Mark was a good human, cherished husband and an amazing father. He was married to Juliet Hamilton, his loving wife, for 38 years and adored his lovely children, Georgia (Sean) Faulkner and Julian Faulker (Cassady). His family shared many adventures, laughs, and love over the years and they brought Mark his greatest joy in life. He is also survived by his sister Tracy Ostrom (Tim) of Pollock Pines, CA. He is preceded in death by his mother (Martha), father (James, and brother (Jim).It's difficult to capture the essence of such a humble, giving, intelligent, and humorous soul in a few short words. Mark was and will always be a beautiful force in the universe.