Mark was born in 1974 in what used to be Fort Victoria whilst we were at the National Parks Fisheries Research station. We moved to Bulawayo, and he went to Hillside Junior School with his older brother MJ and younger sister Pippa. Mark and Pippa both went on to be Head Boy and Head Girl respectively at the Junior School.  Ever since he was a little tyke, Mark had an affinity for nature – he loved animals and to our amusement tried very hard to teach his pet chicken how to talk.  He was only small when I introduced him to fishing and the bug bit him from the start.  He went on to fish as a Junior for Matabeleland province.
Mark moved onto Milton High school, showing a talent for cricket which was nurtured by hours of him and I playing cricket on the front lawn of our garden.  He went on to become opening batsman for the school’s U13 team.  At this time, MJ died, and Mark transferred to Falcon College – a prestigious boarding school located in the bush, 50km out of town.  We had many happy research expeditions into the bush with Falcon College, all of which Mark actively participated in.  Mark thrived at Falcon, playing cricket, again as opening batsman and earning the nickname of Stodge, which has stuck with him for life.  He made great mates at Falcon, who like his nickname, have remained lifelong friends in spite of being scattered across the globe. Mark also played cricket for the Bulawayo Athletics Club where he built good relationships with those he trained and played with.
After a gap year where he worked as Farm Manager on a sugar cane and paprika estate, he was fortunate enough to attend the University of Cape Town, where he graduated with his Honours degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry.  Whilst at varsity, he discovered Karate and with hours of dedicated focus and commitment he obtained his Black Belt and then his first Dan.  At this time, he represented the Western Province in Karate and also went on to represent South Africa.
Mark emigrated to England and slogged away uncomplainingly for 7 years to achieve his British citizenship, which he was then able to share with his wife. He ended up in the world of finance and continued to work so hard. He was always so proud of his achievements with the teams of people he worked with.
Seeing the responses from Mark’s colleagues at Arrow Global is amazing – thank you for sharing them with us. It is wonderful to see how he nurtured friendships within his workplace.  He has worked so hard to achieve all that he has.  I am so very proud of my little red-haired boy and am so very sad that he has died so young.
I thank all of the Malan family clan for the staunch love and support they have given Pippa and myself.  And to all the friends and family who have reached out to us.  I unfortunately still do not have access to email/ internet, so I have been unable to respond in person, but please accept my heartfelt thanks.