Mark E. Gilbert

Mark E. Gilbert, formerly of Pilgrim Drive, Lancaster, died Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at Conestoga View, after a long illness. He was 69. He was the son of the late John D. and Yetta Strugatch Gilbert. Mark Earl Gilbert was born in Newport News, Virginia, near the Fort Eustis army post where his parents were living at the time. He spent his first three years there and in Brooklyn, New York, before the family relocated to Lancaster in 1946. He graduated from Lancaster Township Junior High School and Penn Manor High School, where he acted in school plays. He attended Pennsylvania State University, concentrating in forestry, leaving to enlist in the United States Army in 1964. He served four years, principally in the Army Security Agency in Germany and Turkey. Following his Army service, he graduated from the Devry Institute of Technology in Chicago. He remained in the Chicago area for most of his life, principally with Copar Corporation as an electronics service troubleshooter for calls around the country. After poor health forced his retirement, he returned to Lancaster in 2005. Mr. Gilbert’s early hobbies were stamp collecting and photography, and he later took much interest in the workings of computers and other forms of electronics. He also took part in contract bridge, competing in several tournaments. He had been affiliated with Congregation Shaarai Shomayim in Lancaster, where he completed Bar Mitzvah and confirmation ceremonies. He was the only member of the congregation’s confirmation class of 1959. Mr. Gilbert is survived by a brother, Alan R. Gilbert, Lancaster. Relatives and friends are invited to attend Mark’s funeral service at 12 Noon on Friday, August 10, 2012, at Temple Shaarai Shomayim, 75 East James Street, Lancaster, PA with Rabbi Jack P. Paskoff officiating. Shiva will be observed at 22 Pilgrim Drive, Lancaster, on Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Please omit flowers. Memorials can be made in Mark’s name to the Diabetes Association at diabetes.org or Congregation Shaarai Shomayim of Lancaster, 75 East James Street, Lancaster, PA 17602 or to the charity of one’s choice.