Consolacion Marks

Consolacion “Connie” Marks (nee Ballesteros) of Telford, passed away on December 19, 2016 at the age of 89. A native of Cavite City, Philippines, Connie was predeceased by her loving husband of 54 years, Clifford Marks, and by her three siblings Felicitas Ballesteros Sanchez, Ruben Ballesteros, and Amelio Ballesteros. Connie is remembered as a warm and vivacious woman of sharp intellect, quick wit, dynamic personality, superb organizational ability, and her kindness and thoughtfulness to her wide circle of family members and friends. Born to parents Esteban and Felipa Ballesteros on August 17, 1927, Connie suffered the loss of her father at the age of seven. She was a teenager during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II and was reared by a widowed mother who worked as a teacher. As a young woman, she entered the Philippine General Hospital School of Nursing and in 1953 left for the United States. For many years, she enjoyed a professional nursing career at the prestigious Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, where she rose to become a Nursing Supervisor. She married one of her former patients there, Clifford Marks, on October 25, 1958, and they were together until his death in 2012. After her departure from Wills Eye, she was employed as a manager of a cataract and eye center in Lansdale until her retirement. Connie had a joie de vivre that kept her active until the last few months of her life. She was an avid traveler and visited many countries including Japan, Norway, Germany, and New Zealand. She relished daily walks, bowling, gardening, sewing, shopping, and church activities, especially preparing for church fairs and festivities. Although childless, she inspired numerous nieces and nephews who emulated her example in their own successful careers. During her last visit to the Philippines shortly before her demise, she was honored at a reunion of the extended Ballesteros Family who loved and adored their “Auntie Connie” or “Grandma Connie”. In the last several years and months of her life, Connie was lovingly cared for by Clifford’s devoted niece Karen Bower and her husband Mike, to whom the family owes a debt of gratitude. Connie leaves behind numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews from the Ballesteros Family, and in-laws from the Marks Family. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 on Wednesday, December 28, at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, 1325 Klinerd Rd, Pennsburg, PA 18073. Her services have been entrusted to the Falk Funeral Home, 163 Main St., Pennsburg. Visit her “Book of Memories” at falkfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to her Church or the American Heart Association, 968 Postal Road, Suite 110, Allentown, PA 18109.