Mark R. Culhane

 Mark Robidoux Culhane (1949 to 2025) 

Mark Culhane was an incredible storyteller, musician, and actor who loved poetry, film, and history. He was also a beloved speech teacher at Rock Valley College. Mark Culhane died at home on January 30th, 2025, in Machesney Park, Illinois. 

Mark Culhane was a native son of Rockford, Illinois. He was born at Rockford Memorial Hospital in 1949 to Isabel June (Fissinger) Culhane, a teacher, and John Culhane, a funeral director. He was the youngest of six brothers and sisters. 

Mark struggled initially in school after his father's death in 1964, when he was just fifteen years old. However, with the support of his mother and his switch to attending Auburn High School, he found confidence. He acted in school plays and played guitar in Rockford R&B and rock and roll bands such as the Achilles Heels and The Brotherhood. Art as a way of finding meaning in life became foundational in Mark's approach to life, especially in the face of struggle. 

Mark was a dedicated supporter of civil rights in the 1960s. He protested the war in Vietnam and marched for racial justice and equality. In 1968, he protested the Vietnam War at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where he was tear-gassed and beaten by Chicago police. During the chaos of that day, he also saved a young police officer from being beaten by a crowd of protesters after the violence began. 

Mark moved to New York in 1969 and studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He acted in plays in New York and later at the New American Theater in his hometown of Rockford. He performed in many plays, such as Scapino and Pirates of Penzance. 

Mark attended Rock Valley College and received his undergraduate and master's degrees in mass communication from Northern Illinois University. While attending college, he joined the speech team and competed in speech tournaments around the Midwest. Mark was uniquely gifted at competitive speech, which eventually landed him a job teaching speech at Rock Valley College. 

Mark was a teacher who could help students find the confidence to engage in public speaking. Speech classes are deeply anxiety-producing for many students, who often put off the class until the last semester before graduation. Mark created a sense of safety and support for his students, who, in turn, would often be shocked by their abilities by the end of his class. Going to dinner with Mark almost assuredly meant that, at some point, an ex-student would approach the table and tell him, "You changed my life with that class. I never thought I could give a speech in front of people." It might sound hyperbolic, but people constantly approached and praised him for his teaching.

 Mark met the love of his life, Cheryl Lynn McArdle, in 1982 at Charlotte’s Web in Rockford, IL. He was introduced to Cher by Cherene and Chuck Sweeny, Mark’s very close friends. Cheryl must have had mixed feelings about Mark initially, considering he used to choreograph staged fight scenes at “The Web” to scare non-regulars. However, she was intrigued by Mark’s ability to sing Irish ballads and that the iced tea on the Web’s menu was named “Mark Culhane’s iced tea,” with instructions to ask him if you could order it personally. Mark and Cheryl were quickly bound by their love of Ireland, support for a free united Ireland, and their shared Irish ancestry. They would Marry at Mark’s childhood home on Montague St. in 1983. 

Mark played music with his friend Chuck Sweeny in the musical duo Sweeny and Culhane. They had played together since high school. However, when they started playing together as a duo in the eighties, it was a musical project that lasted until Chuck's death in 2019. The two shared a deep bond both musically and as friends. Sweeny and Culhane were especially known for their ability to perform Irish music, especially the rebel music of the Irish struggle for independence from Great Britain. 

Mark and Cheryl welcomed their only child, Andrew Culhane, into the world in January 1983. Mark and Andrew were very close. Mark instilled a love of art, music, history, and literature in his son. Teaching Andrew guitar starting at age nine, he fostered a deep passion for music in his son. Mark was proud that Andrew had become a professional guitarist who has played around the world. He was also excited that Andrew had achieved a master’s degree in mental health counseling and had become a therapist like his mother, Cheryl. 

Andrew married his wife, Jennifer Lynn (Johnson) Culhane, in the late summer of 2021. This marriage brought Jennifer’s children, Livia and Julia Anders, into Mark’s life. He was thrilled to be a grandfather, never calling Livia and Julia “step-grandchildren” but just “HIS grandchildren.” The girls treasured time with their Papa, watching movies, making waffles, receiving many treats, playing with dogs, and being deeply loved. His granddaughters carry on Mark’s love of the arts. Both are making art, and Livia has started playing guitar. 

Mark was a deeply passionate man. He felt intensely and loved fiercely. If you were lucky enough to be loved by Mark, you didn’t question it; he exuded communication and compassion. He possessed a whip-smart sense of humor only gifted to those who’ve struggled with life’s existential cruelties. His own trials, however, drove him to have a deep compassion for those struggling. His temperament and sensibilities were accurately described by the poet William Butler Yeats's framed quote at the entrance of his home with Cheryl on the Rock River: “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” 

Mark is survived by his wife, Cheryl McArdle Culhane, his son Andrew Culhane, daughter-in-law Jennifer Culhane, and his granddaughters Livia and Julia Anders. Mark leaves two living siblings, Libby Keating and Dick Culhane; sister-in-law, Hind Rassam Culhane and many loving nieces and nephews.

A time to celebrate Mark’s life will be held Saturday, February 8, 2025, from 2:00pm - 5:00pm at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory Riverside Chapel, 3910 N. Rockton Ave. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, https://www.pcrf.net/. Share online condolences at www.fitzgeraldfh.com