Obituary of Mark Wayne Blackedge

Melbourne Mark Blackledge, age 56, passed away unexpectedly at his home of natural causes on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Mark was born January 19, 1963 in Jennings, Louisiana to Frances and John W. Blackledge Jr. He is survived by his parents; three brothers; John, Matt and James, sister-in-law Diana and nieces: Jessica and Jennifer. He has a large extended family in Louisiana and Texas of aunts, uncles and cousins. Mark grew up in Port St. John and graduated from Titusville High School Summa cum laude in 1980. He was active in the Boy Scouts, Little League and was very involved with the high school and local community theaters. Mark also acted and directed several plays at the Titusville Playhouse and Brevard Community College theatres. Mark received a BS in Computer Science with Honors from Florida State University and has been a lifelong fan of FSU and the FSU Seminoles football team. Mark began his professional career at IBM in Boca Raton, Florida and worked on IBM’s OS/2 operating system. At IBM, Mark continued his love of the theatre as an ongoing cast member of the IBM Theaters Players. In 1989, Mark, excitedly joined a new start-up company named Citrix. He was the 12th employee to join the Citrix team, which today is now a successful multi-billion-dollar corporation. After his professional career, Mark lived in Melbourne, Florida where he enjoyed flying his plane, traveling, racquetball, skiing and many Florida outdoor sports. Mark continued his passion with the theater and was a constant figure at the Melbourne Civic Theater where he acted in numerous productions. Mark also performed in productions at the Henagar Center for the Arts in Melbourne and Surfside Players in Cocoa Beach. Mark always loved film and theater. He was greatly influenced by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and their films, especially Casablanca. His homes were always decorated with Ingrid and Bogie memorabilia. He even named his cats Humphrey and Ingrid. He also loved Eeyore, the donkey from Winnie the Pooh. Mark will be greatly missed very much by his family and the many friends he has made. We love you Mark. Visitation will be from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Friday, August 9, 2019 at Ammen Family Cremation and Funeral Care, 1001 South Hickory Street, Melbourne. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:00 AM on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 5330 Babcock Street NE, Palm Bay followed by entombment at Fountainhead Memorial Park in Palm Bay. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date at the Melbourne Civic Theater in Downtown Melbourne.