Mark Philip Guess

Mark Philip Guess, an esteemed farmer and family man, passed away on July 1, 2023, at the age of 86, peacefully in his home. Mark Guess was born in Montgomery County, Ohio to Ralph and Teresa Guess. He attended Fairmont High School and later married his beloved wife Connie Milburn in 1957, whom he celebrated his 66th wedding anniversary with on June 29th of this year. Together they had four children.

Mark Guess was a dedicated farmer who worked tirelessly to provide for his family and community. He took great pride in his work and was known for his hardworking spirit and determination. He enjoyed spending time with his family and sharing his love of farming with his children and grandchildren.

Mark did not come from a farming family, but at the age of ten he developed a passion for agriculture fueled through 4-H. At eighteen, he began his farming career. Dairying was his first enterprise, growing to more than 200 cows, along with feeder cattle. Eventually he phased out the livestock and concentrated on grain. Mark and his brothers expanded the farm in multiple states growing the farm to 12,000 acres. Meanwhile, Mark was always looking for new avenues to diversify and innovate his operation; he became a Pioneer seed dealer, he grew seed corn for Pioneer, and he started growing popcorn where he produced a “Guess What’s Popping” label. A few years later, he entered the vegetable business; growing cabbage, zucchini, squash, pepper, pumpkins and eggplant for the fresh market, generating 600 acres of high-quality produce.

Mark was a member of St. Columbkille Catholic Church and active in many organizations, local and statewide. He helped implement the Farm Bureau Youth Council and Premium Agriculture Corp (P.A.C.I., a Co-op to buy inputs for area farmers). Other organizations included zoning committees, Ohio Farm Bureau, Miami Vally Milk Producers, Ohio Pork Producers, and the Greene County Community Improvement Corp. He was a host farmer for Ohio State University for more than 30 years where he hosted and taught students from many different countries. Mark also founded the Guess Family Scholarship for Students to attend Wooster Agricultural Technical Institute to honor his son Ron, who died in 2014.

Throughout his farming career he was recognized by his peers in many ways including National Outstanding Young Farmer Award (representing Ohio) in 1971, Farm Futures 10 Best-Managed Farms in 1983, Greene County Soil Conservation Cooperator of the year 2015, Green County Soil and Water Conservation Outstanding Cooperator in 2015, Greene County Hall of Fame in 2016, and Ohio Master Farmer in 2017.

Always willing to lend a helping hand to his neighbors and friends, he will be deeply missed by all who knew him, and his legacy will live on through his family and the community he served.

Mark Philip Guess is survived by his wife Connie, his children Cathy (Rock) Persinger, Martha (Mark) Rector, Teresa (Steve) Moore; his 10 grandchildren Brent (Laura) Guess, Julia (Josh) Moore, Philip (Kristen) Guess, Andrea McKay, Cara (Eric) Winkle, Cory (Lea) Rector, Cortney Rector, Christina (Ben) Huff, Jacob (Bri) Moore, Jenna Moore; and his siblings Susan Warnock, Steve Guess, Carole Bozzelli, Janet Gottbrath, Tom Guess; and his 15 great grandchildren. In addition to his parents, Mark was preceded in death by his son Ronald Guess.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at St. Columbkille Catholic Church, Wilmington. Father Bernard Weldishofer will be the Celebrant. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bowersville. Visitation will be held from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at Brown Funeral Home, Wilmington.

For those desiring to leave a contribution in Mark's memory please visit OSU.edu/giving. Click on Give Today, click on Give to Scholarships, search for Guess and under Guess Family Endowed Scholarship Fund in Honor of Ronald Guess you may click Support Now to donate. The fund number is 642829. Brown Funeral Home, Wilmington, is assisting the family. To leave on-line condolences, please visit www.arehart-brown.com or visit our Facebook page, Brown Funeral Home.

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