Mark Thomas Tobin, age 72, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 25, 2024 in Hospice Care at the home of his sister, Kathleen Tobin Krueger, in New Braunfels, TX. He was born on February 12, 1952 in San Antonio, TX, the son of Don F. Tobin and Margaret P. “Peggy” Tobin, former residents of San Antonio and long-time residents and ranchers in Bandera County, TX. He was a resident of Tilden, TX where he had been working on projects in the “oil patch” and a former resident of Bandera, TX.
Mark was the fifth-born child in a family of eight children. He is survived by his siblings, Don F. Tobin, Jr. and wife, Linda A. Tobin, of Idaho Springs, CO, Timothy S. Tobin and wife, Georgina Tobin, of Bandera, TX, Martha Tobin Bersch of Golden, CO, Phillip P. Tobin and wife, Sheila F. Tobin of Bandera, TX. Patrick B. Tobin and wife, Patricia M. Tobin of San Antonio, TX, Kathleen Tobin Krueger of New Braunfels, TX, and Ann Tobin Hevenor and her husband, Russell Hevenor of Bandera, TX. Mark is also survived by eleven nieces and nine nephews, the children of his surviving siblings.
He was a 1970 graduate of Alamo Heights High School where he gained many life-long friends, and then went on to study history, English, and Spanish at the University of Texas in Austin. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about most anything you could ask. Active in his church, he was formerly a member of the Vestry of Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Bandera, TX.
As an avid outdoorsman, Mark loved to go fishing, hunting, rafting, canoeing, camping, and SCUBA diving. He had a spirit of adventure and exploration and found many remote wilderness places to visit in Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming where he spent time camping and hiking. His SCUBA diving trips took him to Florida and Mexico with his brother, Don. Mark was a good horseman and enjoyed long rides on the Tobin Ranch and surrounding areas. As one of the family “ranch hands”, he, along with brothers Don, Tim, Phil, and Patrick, worked in the fields during hay baling season and tended to small herds of cattle and sheep, along with caring for a herd of horses. And there were always corrals and fences to build and repair. Ranch work for the family began in 1947 when Mark’s mother and father bought their land along the Medina River and constructed a house and barn and corrals to start a ranching operation.
Working with his father, Don F. Tobin, a petroleum geologist in San Antonio, Mark learned about the oil and natural gas exploration industry through years of hands-on experience. He was also an expert at land title examination and reporting, having worked for a title company in Casper, WY and an abstract company in Laredo, TX. He worked on oil and gas lease acquisition projects in Louisiana and Texas, helping his family’s company establish drilling and production rights on many tracts of land. Mark was very much self-taught in the petroleum industry and said, “I wanted to teach myself and learn everything I could about the business.” Mark had broad knowledge of petroleum geology, including drilling, well completion, production site construction and marketing of oil and gas. He helped develop various drilling ventures in connection with the Tobin family oil and natural gas business.
Mark’s sisters Martha, Kathleen, and Ann tenderly cared for him in recent years, for which he was very grateful.
The family will hold private memorial celebrations and gatherings with the spreading of ashes at various sites in the Texas Hill Country and a mountain range in Wyoming, all places special to Mark and his family.
Mark had a special spirit, a sharp wit and sense of humor and the character and personality along with his great intellect that attracted people who knew him. He left many friends who loved him and are missing him greatly. His family prays with certainty that he is resting in peace with The Lord.
In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the Tobin family is asking that donations be made to charitable organizations in memory of Mark. Suggested recipients for online donations are: Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Bandera, TX - www.stchrisbandera. org Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department-www.tpwd. texas.gov
