Mark R. Vennis

Mark R, Vennis, 74, passed away on April 13 at Cleveland Clinic Marymount, surrounded by family.

Mark was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia on August 17, 1949, to the late Steve Vennis Jr. and Mary (Queen).

He is survived by his wife, of 55 years, Diane (Frye) Vennis and two children, Todd and Traci (Phil May). He is also survived by four grandchildren, Brenna McWreath, Cole Vennis, Delaney McWreath and Haley Vennis, his only sister, Marcia (Sam) Painter, and three step-grandchildren, Annabelle, Phillip and Benjamin May. He is also survived by his two cats, Booboo Kitty and Ollie, one aunt, and several nieces and nephews and cousins and friends.

Mark was preceded in death by his in-laws, Jack and June Frye, a granddaughter, Mollie McWreath, and a brother, Brad.

He was a graduate of Fairmont State College with a Bachelor's degree in Education, and Youngstown State University with a Master's Degree. Mark touched many lives of young men and women in his 40 years of teaching and coaching. He taught and coached for ten years in Ohio public schools. His fondest memories were the years he spent at Warren G. Harding High School. He could reminisce about football plays, that were run over 50 years ago, with friends.

The last 30 years of his career were spent at Thiel College where his accomplishments were many. He was vital in turning Thiel wrestling into a perennial powerhouse among the Division III ranks for nearly two decades. In his 19-year tenure as head wrestling coach, Vennis saw 15 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-Americans, 19 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-Americans and 45 NCAA national qualifiers pass through his program. In 2001, Vennis coached the school’s first two three time NWCA Scholar-Americans. In addition to his longtime stint as head wrestling coach, Vennis also had stints as a head coach and assistant coach of several other Thiel teams. Vennis was nominated three times for the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year award and won PAC Coach of the Year honors an astounding 11 times. He led the Tomcats to nine PAC titles. He also saw three of his teams win NCAA Regional Championships. Eight Vennis-led Thiel teams earned top-20 honors at the NCAA Division III National Championships. While building a top-notch Division III wrestling program, Vennis managed to compile an outstanding 148-56-2 dual meet record. His teams won 21 tournament championships over the years and finished as runners-up 17 times. Besides his accomplishments with the Thiel wrestling program, Vennis was also an integral member of the NWCA. He served as a member of the NWCA Board of Directors and as the president of the Division III NWCA. For his efforts, the NWCA awarded him with the 25 Year Service Award in 1998. In 2004, Vennis was selected as a member of the NWCA Division III Hall of Fame. After retiring from coaching following the 2000-01 season, Vennis taught physical education courses and was instrumental in starting the coaching minor at Thiel College. He retired from teaching in December of 2011and he and his wife spent 13 warm winters in South Florida, returning to Ohio this past summer to be closer to family and Lake Erie, where he owned and operated a fishing charter business for 25 years.

Cremation will take place and his ashes will be spread in a special place in July. A remembrance of his life will be held at Thiel College on Sept. 29th at 11:00 am.

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