It is with great sadness we announce that Mark Ondracek, the loving and devoted husband to Alison and the earthly father to four children (Stephen, Paul, Ruth, and Rebekah), entered into our Lord’s Kingdom on January 1, 2023. “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matt. 25:23 ESV). These are the words that we imagine Jesus spoke again yesterday morning as Mark saw the face of his Savior.

If we had to describe him in one word, the term “humble” comes to mind. He was a man that always thought of others before himself and found that serving the Lord was vastly more important than any material possession. He did not care about status, title, or notoriety, but took great joy in seeing others succeed and pointing them toward Jesus. As he continued his battle with cancer over the past 4½ years, he often told his kids how proud he was of them, but his continued message was a simple reminder to ensure that they and their families always kept Christ at the center of their lives.

He was an avid sports fan and especially loved rooting for the White Sox. He was such a die-hard fan that he took every opportunity to take jabs at the Cubs, so much so that he even was cheering on the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series, who eventually fell to the Cubs in 7 games. If you are from Chicago, then you know that you cannot root for both teams and if you disagree, he would tell you that you were wrong .

With all that being said, we would be remiss in ending this message without sharing the Gospel message with anyone and everyone reading this post. In short, every human that has ever lived has sinned and deserves the penalty of death, but God’s gift of salvation has provided hope to humanity. (Rom. 3:23; 5:8 6:23). Once an individual understands their need for a Savior, believes that Jesus Christ died for their sins and rose again on the third day, and professes Him as the Lord of their life, then they will be saved. (Rom. 10:9-10). The result of salvation enables that person to be justified by faith, no longer being separated from God and no longer subject to eternal damnation. (Rom. 5:1-2; 8:1).

Thank you to everyone for their kind words over the past couple days. We trust that Mark has impacted the lives of many of you reading this message and would invite you to celebrate his life with us in a couple different ways:

Visitation: Friday, January 6, 2023 – 3:00 to 7:00 pm

Celebration of Life Service: Saturday, January 7, 2023 – 10:30 am

Both of these events will take place at LaGrange Bible Church: 850 7th Ave, La Grange, IL 60525

*In lieu of sending flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to LaGrange Bible Church at the address listed above or by personally delivering during one of the two events stated above.

We look forward to celebrating Mark’s life with you later this week and know that he is enjoying his glorified body in heaven.

In Christ,
The Ondracek Family