Family and friends of Michael “Miki’ Mark paid their last respects as mourners gathered in the Otniel Hesder Yeshiva Sunday morning.

Excerpts from the eulogy of Orit, Mark's daughter:

"My beloved father, I can't believe we're parting. Just a moment ago we were at a different funeral together, and you held me and said that you'll never leave, but now God has taken you. We know why. You always told us that our Father in heaven takes the good ones, and you're the best in the world"

"You gave so much to others, you accepted us as we are. Ask God to have mercy on us. You and mom are the best parents in the world. Look at us down here, we are so broken, but yet so strong, and all because of what you taught us. Thank you for everything, thank you for rebuking me when I did things that are wrong, and showing me the right path. Look at your family, Dad, and be proud. You should be so proud for having built such a family, where each one of us has our own unique strengths."

"We will continue your legacy, father, with the amazing faith and strength that you instilled in us."

One of Mark's sons eulogized:

"When I pray, I talk about my Father in heaven and my father down here. Now it's Father in heaven and father in heaven also. You were a man of so many kind deeds. You helped so many people but always quietly, you made sure that no one knew how much you did to help others."

"With all that you did, with all the responsibilities you had, you never let that take you away from studying Torah. How you loved to study Torah. Everything you did was for the Torah, and for the sanctification of God's name."

Mark, a father of 10 from Otniel, was fatally wounded by terrorists in a drive-by shooting on Route 60 south of Hevron. Affectionately known as Miki to all who knew him, he was the administrative director of the Hesder Yeshiva  in Otniel and the Executive Director of Yeshiva Torat Shraga in the YU Israel Gruss Center. 

Mark’s wife Chavi was severely injured in the attack, while two of the couple’s 10 children also suffered injuries.

The funeral procession, which departed from Otniel towards Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot cemetery Sunday afternoon, gathered for eulogies in the town yeshiva.

Mark’s children fought off tears as they spoke of their father, while President Reuven Rivlin, a distant relative of Mark, described him as an “honest and humble man who always gave of himself.”