Mark Held

Mark Held, 74, of Pittsburgh, PA, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 17, 2026 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer.                       

 He was born on December 16, 1951 in Pittsburgh and grew up exploring the rural farmlands of Gibsonia, PA. His love of the outdoors continued through adulthood with numerous camping trips filled with stargazing and telling tall tales around the campfire.                                                        

 His first job was as a paper boy, biking along the roads in his neighborhood. His love of bicycling and storytelling began here, as his mother would regularly receive phone calls from concerned neighbors still waiting for their papers at dinnertime, due to Mark’s long conversations with other neighbors earlier on in his route.                                                                                                                                                                                    

 His love of bicycling and adventure continued into his 20s, when he completed a bicycling trip with his brother, Craig Held. They biked from Pittsburgh to the beaches of South Carolina, working odd jobs and camping along the way.                                                                                    

Aside from bicycling and the outdoors, his favorite hobby was playing golf, which is a sport he began as a high school student and continued to play throughout adulthood, traveling and making friends on golf courses around the world. In recent years, he treasured his Pittsburgh-based golfing buddies and their trips exploring courses across the region.                                                                                                                                     

Mark’s love of reading inspired him to complete an English degree at the University of Pittsburgh. During this time, he studied abroad for a year in Verona, Italy where he became fluent in Italian. While abroad, he traveled throughout Italy and France. Afterwards, he worked an assortment of jobs, from driving a taxi cab to working on a paving crew both on the streets of his beloved Pittsburgh; he was a true Pittsburgher through and through. He eventually returned to the University of Pittsburgh in the early 1980s to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science.                                 

After graduating from Pitt, he worked for Bell Labs in Reading, PA, and went on to work for a number of startups and tech firms across the Pittsburgh region. He also obtained a Master’s in Public Management, Information Systems from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University. He eventually worked for Carnegie Mellon, building and maintaining specialized supercomputers for researchers in multiple disciplines across the university.   

During his spare time and especially throughout his cancer treatment, he enjoyed watching all Pittsburgh sports teams. Mark had an encyclopedic memory of pivotal sports events and could recount how specific games progressed, moment by moment.                                                                 

His most cherished positions were that of leadership in Glenshaw Presbyterian Church as an Elder, Moderator of the Deacons, and as a member of the Pastor Nominating Committee. He also enjoyed teaching Adult Sunday School, sharing stories and learning with his fellow church members.       

 Mark is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 38 years, Susan Jane Phillips; his children Kristin Held and Marcy Held; his siblings Terrell Falk (Jim), Linda Held, Craig Held, and Wendy Husni (Tim), and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, A. Murrin Held and Therese E. Held.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday July 24, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Glenshaw Presbyterian Church 300 Glenn Ave. Glenshaw. The family will receive friends following the service in the church Parlor.

Donations in Mark’s memory can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at https://pancan.org/ or to Glenshaw Presbyterian Church at https://www.glenshawchurch.org/wp/ or at 300 Glenn Avenue, Glenshaw, PA, 15116.