El Paso Table Tennis

Mark Nordby, 11-9-1967 — 4-4-2016

Nordby

Members of the club are deeply saddened by coach Nordby passing away suddenly at his home on Monday, April 4th, late afternoon.

We had a memorial at the club on Saturday, April 9th.


18 Comments

  • Champagne
    April 6th, 2016 on 10:28 pm
  • Mark,
    I will be missing the opportunity to “empower” you!!!
    Thank you very much for your coaching – best poster child.

    Rest in Peace!
    You will be greatly missed!

  • Javier Vargas
    April 6th, 2016 on 11:19 pm
  • Thank you for all the support provided to my kid Yair, I have no words to express my grattitude and sadness. God bless you and your family.

  • Gustavo Martinez
    April 7th, 2016 on 6:12 am
  • Coach,

    I can not even begin to describe the pain that your passing caused me. Throughout the 6-7 years that I’ve known you, he was always there for me to better understand the game that we were both passionate about, to give me good advice about table tennis and life, and to just be an awesome friend and mentor as you always were. You taught me how to never give up for a point, to keep fighting event though your 0-10 down. You taught me how enjoy the game and always be positive no matter what other people are doing. This all can be translated into a life advice. You did so much for El Paso’s table tennis scene, but not only that, you created a community that fostered caring for each other and that respected any player outside of El Paso, no matter what their attitude inside and outside the court. Thank you so much for everything my friend. I will surely miss you. The PITA will miss you so much!

    Rest in Peace my coach, mentor and friend Mark Nordby

  • Earl
    April 7th, 2016 on 7:51 am
  • Coach is one of a kind. A unique person not only as a good coach but also someone with a good soul. Really cared about people. I’m really, really going to miss you as everyone will. Rest in peace.
    Earl

  • Young-Joon “YJ” Kim
    April 7th, 2016 on 10:38 am
  • I participated in the tournaments Mark organized at the El Paso Club a few times for the last two years ever since I came to New Mexico. Each time Mark made me believe I was improving well and have great potential to be a good player. He even turned my cash award from the last event into a nice, customized plaque with my name to encourage me. It was only a month ago and I’m still in shock.

    Thanks, Mark, for your encouragement and love for the sport.

    Rest in peace.

    yj

  • Alex Arzola
    April 7th, 2016 on 11:22 am
  • Coach, I only talked with you a couple of times, but those times were so worth it, you inspired me to become a better player and gave me some advice, you will be greatly missed.

    Rest in peace Coach Nordby

  • Adam Block
    April 7th, 2016 on 3:11 pm
  • As a coach Mark traveled with members of his club to Arizona and Nationals (Las Vegas) which is where I crossed paths with him over the years. This past fall I participated in the El Paso tournament he organized. He was always very friendly and accommodating. I consider myself lucky to have met him.

  • Jeff Hokanson
    April 7th, 2016 on 3:54 pm
  • I met Mark 30yrs ago and we quickly became life long friends. Mark spent a lot of time around my family and basically became a member of the family over the years. I admired Mark for living life the way he wanted. He didn’t care what others thought, was brutally honest, and a ton of fun to be around. Whenever he was around there were always a lot of laughs. Mark was a great friend and can never be replaced. Mark, you truly were one of a kind and I will greatly miss you.

  • Jay Turberville
    April 7th, 2016 on 5:38 pm
  • Mark has played in a number of our Phoenix tournaments and brought other club members with him. The El Paso group and Mark were always fun to have. They came to win, but they did so with a friendly energy. They were and are a good group of guys. When playing at a distant Nationals (Virginia Beach?) I was surprised to hear some players cheering me on. When I looked up, it was a group of El Paso players. I have to believe that the club and its members were to some degree reflections of Mark and his leadership.

    I was truly shocked to hear of Mark’s passing. He will be missed by many.

  • JJ Gonzalez
    April 7th, 2016 on 9:28 pm
  • There may be boundary lines between two countries, but none in a long respectful true friendly relationship , created thru the years of constant learning and communication with you, Coach Mark.
    I`ll really miss you, but now, as always, you know can count on me.
    God Bless You, Rest in Peace, Amigo

  • Bob Funkhouser
    April 14th, 2016 on 8:54 am
  • I knew Mark first as a tournament director, then as a coach, mentor and friend. The 4 hours of personal lesson in 2014 were great and I got to know him better, and the more I knew about him, the more I liked him. It’s too bad we never go to play golf toghether, or throw a football. Thanks again, Mark, for your expert advice and great assistance at the 2015 Santa Fe Open. I miss you already. See you around the Cosmos!

  • David B. Lally
    April 14th, 2016 on 8:49 pm
  • I knew Mark for perhaps 10 years. When he came to Ca for the Seniors Championships in Laguna Hills he always stayed at my home. He was a true gentlemen, always treated my wife with the utmost respect, and was always wonderful to be around. He will be deeply missed. he was such a great guy, really humble and down to earth, which are great qualities. heaven just receive da wonderful person, with a big heart, and a fantastic table tennis coach. Rest in Peace by good friend. David Lally

  • kali goring
    April 16th, 2016 on 8:15 pm
  • coach, you were an inspiration and your club was my absolute favorite to come play tournaments , largely because of what you created for table tennis here and in the region. you will be missed badly, friend …..RIP ,Mark

  • gaspard
    April 16th, 2016 on 8:53 pm
  • I will echo Kali’s thoughts and add that Mark was a not only a great coach running a fantastic club with great players, but a great man. Even though he could be quite the serious guy, he had a good sense of humor and I enjoyed giving him a hard time whenever in his presence. Thank you for what you have done to the sport at large but more importantly what you have done to encourage and better individuals who were lucky enough to cross your path. you will always be with the ones you touched. G.

  • Shekhar
    April 16th, 2016 on 9:07 pm
  • I have been wanting to take coaching lessons from Mark over the past year and have postponed them for one reason or another. i thought there was always going to be time to go down to El Paso and spend a solid week getting coaching from Mark. This sudden turn of events is an urgent reminder for me to not take my life aspirations for granted.
    I am so glad I met Mark and I am going to miss him. Thanks for all your inspiration Mark!

  • Tom Wintrich
    April 18th, 2016 on 9:31 am
  • I will miss you my friend and our incessant chatter about TT. And I will really miss showing you my new backhand, a product of your good coaching, after you so delicately explained to me that my previous bh sucked. Didn’t bother me in the least because you were right. Thanks for being you.

  • Janis Martin
    July 29th, 2016 on 8:12 pm
  • In 2009-2010, I was glad to call myself Mark’s girlfriend.

    Mark,
    I don’t have any words to express how empty I feel now that you’re not a part of this world. You are….were…so thoughtful and I would be hard-pressed to find another man like you. There are a million little things that I loved about you. I will cherish them always. I hope to see you on the other side.

    Love,
    Janis

  • Gustavo Gutiérrez
    January 10th, 2017 on 8:29 pm
  • A great player and great friend…

    It will be in my mind, as long as I have a racket in my hands