From the Publisher

A dear friend of mine, Mark Humphreys, passed away recently and unexpectedly. Mark was a kind, intelligent, generous gentleman who had a tremendously positive effect on people, especially me. This is the story of my friendship with Mark.

I was at cocktail hour for The Ballet Ball at the Schermerhorn several years ago when I went up to chat with a friend who was talking with Mark. Mark and I were introduced, struck up a conversation, and immediately hit it off. At the time, I was in private wealth management and was always on the lookout for potential prospects. So, Mark and I exchanged cards.

At that time, Mark lived in Dallas, but his girlfriend, the lovely Emily Hastings, lived in Nashville. Mark was the founder and owner of an international architecture firm, Humphreys & Partners Architects, the largest multi-family and student housing architecture firm in the United States. Mark was also a passionate pilot and owned several jet aircraft. Needless to say, he was a very busy guy, often out of the country and difficult to reach. Eventually, I was able to catch up with him and get a meeting. After a lengthy sales cycle, he became one of my most prominent private clients. Years later, he told me he did it out of friendship.

About six years ago, Mark moved to Nashville. He quickly made a significant impact on the Greater Nashville community. Mark was a generous patron of the arts and made many significant financial contributions to The Nashville Symphony, Cheekwood, The Harpeth Conservancy, and The Nashville Ballet, where he previously served as a board member.

We were so happy that Mark and Emily invited Melissa and me to their wedding at their brand new luxury resort, The Pointe, in Inlet Beach, Florida. The Pointe was Mark’s baby, built at the intersection where 30A meets Highway 98. The Pointe had not even opened yet, so we had the entire resort to ourselves. The wedding festivities, designed by Nashville’s Bruce Pittman, were one of the most spectacular and memorable weddings Melissa and I had ever attended. We had become close friends with Mark and Emily during their courtship and were so thrilled that they became husband and wife. They were made for each other and were such a stunning couple.

When I retired from banking and Melissa and I purchased Sophisticated Living Nashville, Mark was one of the first to call me to advertise The Pointe in our new publication. I’m sure this was out of friendship as well.

Last August, Sophisticated Living Nashville was a media sponsor of Women with Drive, a charity promoting girls’ STEM education. As part of the festivities associated with the Music City Grand Prix, I was invited to drive Ferraris and Aston Martins in Laurelbrooke on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Mark was very passionate about luxury motoring, so I asked him to join me at the event. We had a wonderful time together, and sadly it was the last time I got to spend so much quality one-on-one time with Mark.

The last time I saw Mark was at the Symphony Gala Patron Party last December. Then, on January 3rd, Melissa got the shocking text from Emily that Mark had passed that morning. He was only 67 and left us too soon. This was a tremendous personal loss and a loss to the Nashville and Dallas communities at large. Mark, we miss you and will always cherish your friendship.

Dave Mahanes, Publisher dave@slmag.net