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Community celebrates friend’s memory

ENCINITAS — Dec. 1, Encinitas friends of Mark Duarte came together at Swami’s Café for a Celebration of Life fundraiser for Mark Duarte, a longtime resident of Encinitas who died Nov. 25, after a lengthy illness.Friends Lisa Nava and Lori Koehler organized the event and welcomed more than 300 friends, family and neighbors for an evening of raffles, silent auctions, food and music by Jimmy’s Band. Duarte’s funeral mass will be Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Catholic Church, 1001 Encinitas Blvd., followed by a reception in the church Parish Hall.

In addition, there will be a Paddle Out at 10 a.m. Dec. 10 at the border of Cardiff and Solana Beach Seaside Reef. If you were unable to attend the fundraiser, donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Mark Duarte Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank. Duarte is survived by his wife Maureen, son Mark, daughter, Dionna, her husband, Wes, and a grandson Masen along with numerous brothers and sisters.