(Note: The following is an expanded version of a memorial published in the March 2, 2011, issue of PAW.)

Mark died of ALS May 17, 2008, at home in Bloomfield, N.J. He was 48.

Inspired by A Separate Peace, Mark attended Phillips Exeter Academy, where he excelled academically and graduated early with high honors. At Princeton, Mark was in the Class of 1982 until halfway through his senior year. He later graduated with the Class of 1984.

Mark majored in English and earned a certificate in American Studies, dined at Terrace, and wrote for the National Enquirer. He came out while still a freshman, becoming active in the Gay Alliance at Princeton and serving as a link between Princeton’s gay and straight communities at a time of social division.

Mature beyond his (and our) years, Mark had a remarkable ability to connect with others. He was handsome, clever, and gifted, especially in the temperate way he would express his fierce intelligence and wonderfully mischievous wit.

After Princeton, Mark returned to his native New Hampshire, writing for Yankee magazine and working in publicity, advertising, and marketing. He later moved to New York as an executive in the music and home-entertainment industries. Mark and his lifelong partner, Cory, created violettendencies.net, a Web-based gallery specializing in ceramics and art glass.

The class extends its sympathy to Cory; Mark’s siblings, Mauria, David, Charlotte, and Mary Alice; and the many Princeton friends who mourn his untimely death and miss him.

Donations in Mark’s memory may be sent to the Mark Bastian ’84 Memorial Fund at Princeton University, c/o Helen Hardy, Alumni and Donor Records, P.O. Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543-5357. All proceeds will benefit neuroscience.


Undergraduate Class of 1984