Mark Souder, age 72, went to be with the Lord on Sept. 26, 2022.
He was born July 18, 1950, in Fort Wayne to Edward and Irma (Fahling) Souder. Mark grew up in Grabill, Ind., the area where his great-great grandfather settled in 1848. He graduated from Leo High School in 1968, Indiana University at Fort Wayne in 1972 and the Graduate School of Business at Notre Dame in 1974. He also received honorary doctorates from Tri-State University, the Indiana Institute of Technology and the University of Saint Francis. Mark married Diane Zimmer of South Bend, Ind., at the Bremen Apostolic Christian Church on July 28, 1974.
Their first home was in Edina, Minn., where Mark had taken a job as the marketing manager for Gabberts Furniture. In 1976, he returned to his family business. Upon his return he was recruited by Dan Quayle and played a key role in his upset victory for Congress that year. In 1980, he assisted Dan Coats in succeeding Quayle in Congress.
After Mark’s father died in 1981 and the furniture store closed in 1983, the Souder family moved to Washington D.C. for him to serve as the Republican staff director on the House committee on children, youth and families. In 1988, Souder switched to the Senate with Coats, serving as his legislative director until mid-1993 when Mark moved back to Indiana. Souder was then hired by Thom Blake as vice-president of manufacturing of Our Country Home of Grabill. Emmanuel Community Church has been their family church since 1993.
In the fall of 1994, Souder was elected to Congress. He was elected to seven more terms, becoming the second-longest serving congressman in history representing the Fort Wayne region. Souder focused heavily on fighting for the core industrial jobs of the region as well as local interests such as saving the Veteran’s Hospital and the Air Base. He served on three committees and seven subcommittees each term. He was the point person in the House on illegal narcotics, and co-founded the bi-partisan National Parks Caucus. A major accomplishment of his was introducing and passing the National Lighthouse Preservation Program, which had the National Park Service manage the transfer of hundreds of lighthouses from the Coast Guard to non-profit organizations to preserve access to the public.
After Congress, he wrote regularly for Howey Politics Indiana, as well as in national books and publications on baseball and politics. His last book project was co-authoring “Television in Fort Wayne, 1953-2018.”
Mark was passionate about his Lord, family and country. He was a veracious reader of the Bible, history, politics and sports. He adored his grandchildren and spent countless hours sharing experiences with them while teaching valuable life lessons. For being such a strong and courageous leader, he had a very kind and generous heart. When he crossed the state line, every time he would sing the song, “Back Home Again in Indiana.”
Souder is survived by his wife and best friend of 48 years, Diane, and children Brooke (Jeff) Lyons of Fort Wayne; Nathan (Sarah) Souder of Grand Junction, Colo.; and Zach Souder of Albuquerque, N.M., as well as grandchildren Grant Lyons, Reagan Lyons, Elias Souder and Ethan Souder.
Funeral services are 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, at Emmanuel Community Church, 12222 W. US-24, with calling one hour prior. Calling will also take place 3 p.m.–5 p.m. and 6 p.m.–8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at the church. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to A Hope Center, InAsMuch Ministries or Josiah Venture. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.fairhavenfortwayne.com.