Pomona College alum, music lover, native plant aficionado

Longtime Claremont resident Mark Allen Ambord died on Wednesday, July 10 at the age of 64.

Mark was born November 9, 1954 to Walter Ambord and Elizabeth (Whitcomb) Ambord. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption elementary and middle school and Damien High School before matriculating at Pomona College.

In college, he lettered in wrestling and was a member of the Pomona-Pitzer football team. Over the years, he also taught many children to swim through the Pomona College swim school, which his father helped to found. Throughout his life, he remained a proud Pomona College alumnus.

At Pomona College, he also discovered an interest in botany and began exploring the native flora of California through frequent trips to the Bernard Field Station and Joshua Tree National Park. This developed into a lifelong appreciation for California’s rich botanical life.

After college, he met and married Kathleen Noonan and had three children. He worked in insurance and pharmaceutical sales before taking up landscaping in his later life. Their careers took them to both coasts before permanently settling back in Claremont to raise their kids.

A lover of music, he could often be heard humming his favorite songs or playing the piano for his family.

He was a proud son, brother, father and papa. He is survived by his mother Elizabeth; sisters Loree, Julie and Debbi; wife Kathleen; children Daniel, Caitlin and Paige; and grandchildren Tristan, Tabitha and Tucker.

Services will be at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, 435 N. Berkeley Ave., Claremont, at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 30. A 10 a.m. rosary will precede the service.