Mark Steven Braunstein, 71, the founder and Chairman of the Board of Markertek, died Thursday, September 23, 2021 at Kingston Hospital after a long illness and complications from Covid-19. Born March 9, 1950 in Queens, NY he was the son of the late Alvin and Barbara Braunstein. An area resident since the early 1980’s, he previously resided in New Hyde Park, NY.
Mark started his young life as a carpenter and then as a courier for industrial factories, which offered him a unique education he couldn’t get at any college. An inventor and entrepreneur, he founded Marker Technologies in 1987 and remained President until 2016. The broadcast supply firm grew from a three-person operation to a respected name in the broadcast video supply industry.
Mark truly left his mark on his community. He started the soup kitchen in Woodstock, helping to feed numerous area families during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. He set up the media center at the Woodstock Day School and generously donated to the Arts Society of Kingston’s Great Room for the Arts. He was a major supporter of the Women’s Health Expo. He supported the Woodstock Film Festival for many years as well as the Hudson Valley Film Commission. He lent his support to the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, CO, and gifted to Pratt Institute the “Katharine L. McKenna Screening Room.” His humble support was spread throughout the community, too many to list, but is felt by all. In his love for the Arts, his final contribution to the community was toward the rehabilitation of the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony Theater, finished with lights on, in time for him to see it. Although Mark has left us behind, his legacy will continue to support the community, far and wide.
Survivors include his wife, Katharine, a daughter, Eliza R. McKenna and a son, Andy Braunstein all of Woodstock. A sister, Ronnie (Mark) Astor of Maryville, TN, and a grandchild, Adelaide Braunstein also survive. Â
A service to celebrate the life of Mark Braunstein will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please choose and donate to one of Mark’s favorite charities. Arrangements are under the direction of the Seamon-Wilsey Funeral Home, Inc., Cor. of John & Lafayette Sts., Saugerties. Further obituary information and expressions of condolence may be shared with the family on Mark’s Tribute Wall at SeamonWilseyFuneralHome.com.
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