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BIG RAPIDS – This week, Big Rapids lost a much-beloved community member who was well known for his kind soul and his efforts to give back to his community, and care for his family and friends.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, Marcos A. Solis, or Mark as he was known by many, died at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids.
For over 20 years, Mark served as a deputy for the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office. He also worked with area youth through the probate court system and is remembered by his friends and colleagues at the department as a hard-working and giving man.
A 1979 Big Rapids High graduate, Mark was actively involved in the community in the following years and helped to found the Rocket Football Program in Big Rapids, where he got to know current Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller.
Miller said he knew Solis specifically through his efforts to give back to his community through sports programs like league football.
“I came to know Mark after I began working at the Big Rapids Police Department back in the mid-to-late ‘90s,” Miller said. “Through that relationship, Mark headed up a teen dance that the Elks would host, and I started working with him through that at first. Shortly thereafter, Mark also brought the Rockets football program to Big Rapids, and I helped him with officiating those youth games and had a friendship through those that lasted for years.
“Mark was the kind of person that when you were his friend, you were always his friend, and he was someone that really gave back to our community in numerous ways,” he added. “He had a very good relationship with the inmates he worked with, and there was a calmness he had to him when he worked with the inmates that was really no different from who he was when he was out in public. He was just a guy with a big, caring heart.”
Miller said Solis was an officer that made a difference with inmates and was able to communicate with them.
“He was really strong with de-escalating situations and talking people down so that things wouldn’t need to become physical in nature,” Miller said. “He was someone you would have wanted there to help with de-escalation and for his calming influence. I know there are a lot of people who may have been inmates throughout the years that had that positive relationship with him even after they had been released. It’s been 12-15 years since he’s worked at the department, but he was a person that was like family.
“He provided a lot of guidance and direction for me, and working with him through the dances he helped put on was always memorable,” he added. “Refereeing the Rocket football games is something I’ll always remember.
"It’s a big loss, and he was someone in the community that was very involved in a number of ways, and my heart and prayers go out to his family, and the memories of the person he was will always be with everyone.”
Solis was instrumental in developing the Holland Park Veterans & Homefront Heroes Memorial, was a member of the AMVets Post #1941, the Eagles Aerie #2535, and the BPO Elks #974, where he loved to DJ the teen dances. He also was a member of the Stanwood Lions Club.
Chuck Morris, a former colleague and friend of Solis, remembered him as a man who imparted his generosity widely.
“Initially we were partners and correction officers with the sheriff’s department in Mecosta County,” Morris said. “In that position back then I was very new, very young, and very naive, and Mark had an ability to be able to talk with people in general. One of the biggest things about Mark is that if you were his friend, you were his family.”
“He would always be there for me, and he was family in every aspect,” he added. “Mark certainly taught me a great deal early in my career and we were great friends the whole time we knew each other. There isn’t a place in Big Rapids that you can walk into that doesn’t have a memory or something positive to say about Mark.”
Solis is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; his two sons, Tony Seaborn and Ryder Solis; and one daughter, Katelyn Solis.
Funeral services will be at noon Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Big Rapids Eagles Aerie, at 18361 16 Mile Road, with Pastor John Morris officiating the service.
Mark’s family will greet friends beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Eagles. He will be laid to rest on the family plot in Mt. Carmel Cemetery.
Memorial contributions in his name may be made for the Veterans & Homefront Heroes Memorial, 226 N. Michigan Ave. in Big Rapids.
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Remembering Mark Solis: 'He was just a guy with a big, caring heart' - The Pioneer
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