Mark James Netter, 78, died at home in Urbana on June 22, 2026 after a long decline due to Parkinson's
Disease. He was born in Chicago, IL on December 20, 1947 to Calvin and Arlene Netter and grew up in
Park Ridge, IL. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1969, Mark held various positions
working for the University in facility management and planning, operations, and campus administrative
and informational systems. For over 30 years, he managed current and future space needs for class and
event scheduling, enrollment, timetables, and facility assignments. While serving as the Assistant Vice
Chancellor for Campus Administrative Systems in the late 1990s, he coordinated the implementation of
state of the art (at the time) technology that integrated campus-wide online administrative and
informational systems.
Mark was deeply engaged in the community, and spent decades volunteering his time to local causes. In
the 1980s, he helped to organize the Prairie State Games and the Champaign County Freedom
Celebration. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he spent 20 years coaching youth soccer through the Urbana
Park District. He started coaching his son, and then later his daughters. When he started coaching, there
was no girls-only option for park district soccer. He implemented girls teams and continued to coach for
many years after that. He served 10 years on the Urbana School Board, including two years as president
from 2007-2009. After that, he served on the board for the Urbana Free Library and as a tutor for the
Urbana School District Adult Education Program, until his health declined to the point where he could no
longer meaningfully contribute.
Mark loved his life in Urbana and his career at the University of Illinois, a place where he found his
home, lifelong friends, and family. In the summers, he enjoyed family trips to a lake in Ontario where he
would windsurf. In in later years, he found joy in spending time with his children and grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Dr. Eve Harwood, children David Netter (Kaci), Sally Netter (Grant Thomas),
Emily Althouse (David) and Molly Netter (Mark Shuldiner), cousin Denise Younger, nieces Sarah Netter
and Sara Harwood, siblings in law Susan Netter, Joseph Harwood, and Gisela Harwood, and
grandchildren Catherine, Maxwell, Arden, Arthur, Oliver, Addison, Cole, and Pembrey. He is preceded in
death by his parents, stepmother Lynn Netter, first wife Carolyn Pape, and brother Craig Netter.

Visitation will be from 4-7:00 p.m. on Monday June 29, 2026 at Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 Philo Road, Urbana, Il 61802. Celebration of life service will be held on Tuesday, June 30th at 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Condolences may be made at www.renner-wikoffchapel.com