Mark H. Leff, 66, of Urbana, died in his home on Sunday, February 22, after a year of living with cancer.

Mark, son of Sam and Melitta Leff, was born in 1949, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Washington DC. He received a B.A. in Economics from Brown University and a Ph.D. in History from University of Chicago. He taught American History at the University of Illinois from 1986 to 2012. He married his wife of more than forty years, Carol Skalnik Leff, in 1971.

He will be remembered and deeply missed by Carol and the rest of his loving family including: his daughter Alison Leff Washabaugh, her husband Bill Washabaugh, and their son Rowan; his son Ben Leff and Ben's fiancAC.e Melissa Schoeplein; his sister Deborah Leff; and his stepmother Adele Leff.

Mark was a passionate, devoted and challenging teacher who was beloved by his students and believed the study of history helped create informed, engaged citizens. Among numerous teaching awards, he was named the Carnegie Professor of the Year for the state of Illinois in 1998. He cared deeply for his family and many friends and constantly reminded them how much he loved them. Mark was a kind, warm, person with a quirky sense of humor who routinely put others before himself in his personal life as well as in involvement in community social justice organizations. And he was self-effacing to a fault; if given the chance, he would have quickly (and incorrectly) pronounced himself unworthy of the preceding praise.

A Celebration of Life Mark's life will be held on Saturday, May 9 from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Illini Union, Room 314. In lieu of other gestures of condolence, gifts may be made to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank or the ACLU of Illinois.