Obituary of Max L. High

Max L. High 12/29/1935 - 5/6/2014 Born in Martha, Oklahoma, Max came to Southern Arizona as a toddler and stayed, spending his grammar school years in Douglas. There he and his friends reveled in their desert freedom, riding wild burros from Mexico until they were tame and bicycling into Bisbee for the thrill of long, free rides down the steep hills. When his family moved to Tucson after World War II, they chose to live in the rural northwest. There Max attended Amphitheater schools, where math was his forte; and he held summer jobs like scaring crows out of orchards and vegetable gardens with his trusty BB gun. After a satisfying high school experience, Max spent four years on a Navy destroyer in the Far East during the Korean War. Four years was enough for him in the service; and he returned to Tucson, taking advantage of the GI Bill to enroll in the University of Arizona in Range Management because of his love for Arizona's outdoors. But when he met Mari Helen and she wasn't interested in living in remote forests, Max took up Civil Engineering. Finishing school, he took a job with the Arizona Department of Transportation, where he assumed many leadership roles and innovative jobs before he retired. Max loved hunting and fishing, camping and campfires. He enjoyed Hemingway and bullfights, Nogales food, and dancing the swing to every type of music. He loved parties, especially if they included charcoal and a pool, and he liked being a shade tree mechanic. Max played tennis with enthusiasm and enriched the after-tennis cordiality with his imaginative sense of humor and warm laugh. After spending two years building his families' homes, Max rebuilt a fiberglass boat, embraced water skiing, and took all of his relatives and friends to Apache Lake, where he patiently drove the boat to teach everyone to ski, including St. Mark's Church youth groups. Max joined St. Mark's in 1959, when he and Mari Helen were married. He contributed over years with the Building and Grounds Committee, rebuilding and repairing church buildings built in the 40's and 50's: roofs, plumbing, parking lots, and patios. But his last project was to build a robust market for Café Justo at St. Mark's. For eight years he organized, displayed, ordered, visited the Agua Prieta roasting and distribution center, and built the "coffee ministry." Max High leaves behind a loving family: wife, Mari Helen; son, Douglas William; and his sister, Linda Sue Ochs. He will also be dearly missed by his nephews, Robert Thomas (Patricia) and Robin Thomas (Thara). Dearly loved great-nieces are Alyssa and Sarah, as well as great-nephews, Julian and Liam. A Celebration of Max's life will be held at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. Refreshments in Geneva Hall will be followed by interment in the adjacent columbarium and a time for sharing memories. If you wish to remember Max in a more tangible way, please contribute to the Tucson Food Bank in lieu of flowers. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel.