WTIP and community mourn loss of volunteer host Mark Abrahamson

Kalli Hawkins | May 1, 2025

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that long-time WTIP volunteer host Mark Abrahamson has passed away.

Mark had only recently learned that he had Stage III esophageal cancer and had begun treatment at Essentia Health in Duluth. Mark passed away on Wednesday, April 30, at his home in Grand Marais.

For many years, Mark was an effervescent voice on WTIP’s North Shore Morning and North Shore Weekend. He was a comforting and familiar voice on the radio and a steady presence who brought warmth, humor, and connection into the homes and hearts of our community.

While Mark enjoyed all aspects of volunteering at WTIP, one of his favorite projects was Sounds of the Spirit. He was working on several Sounds of the Spirit shows as recently as last Saturday, anticipating being absent to undergo treatment. We will be sharing those in the weeks and months ahead.

In addition to volunteering at WTIP, his contributions to the Cook County community are numerous.

Mark worked and taught in the healthcare community in Grand Marais and the Grand Portage Tribal Lands. Mark was on the Lutsen Mountain Ski Patrol, was very active with the church choir, was involved in the Grand Marais Farmer’s Market, and supplied many of us with vegetables from his greenhouses.

“I don’t think there’s a person in Cook County that hasn’t been touched in some way by Mark and all the activities that he’s been up to in the decades that he’s lived here in Cook County,” WTIP’s CJ Heithoff said while remembering Mark during North Shore Morning on May 1.

Mark was a pillar in this community, and his dedication to WTIP was exceptional. He won the Ampers Volunteer of the Year award in 2020 and the Cook County Citizen of the Year award in 2024. And the list goes on and on. He will be dearly missed.

“It is amazing what he has done for the community,” said WTIP Executive Director Matthew Brown.

Brown said on North Shore Morning, “It’s been a somber morning here at WTIP. Our prayers and thoughts go out to his family and his husband, Steve.”

Our station and town will feel quieter without Mark, but his legacy of kindness and connection will remain in the memories and stories we’ll share with others for years to come.

First Digital Broadcast | August 2021

Mark Abrahamson with a dragon

Mark Abrahamson and Pete Kavenaugh, Citizen of the Year Award 2024

Mark Abrahamson in 2020

Annamaria, Mark Abrahamson, and CJ. Annamaria and CJ came from Iowa and brought Mark cookies because they love North Shore Morning. Photo by Matthew Brown