'We will miss him dearly': NM beer community says goodbye to a friend

The brewery community is mourning the loss of one of its own.

Mark Dawson, who worked at Second Street Brewery in Santa Fe, died unexpectedly in late July.

In a message, his partner, Tonya Navarro, said Dawson moved to Santa Fe in 2017. The couple met in March of that year and began sharing their life together in June.

“His love and knowledge of beer was inspiring,” she said. “He began his brewing career working front of house, making many friends over the pints he poured. Customers even mistook him for the owner because he was so knowledgeable. He soon transitioned to back of house and delved deep into the alchemy of brewing. Mark was an artist and creative in many ways, and beer was one of the outlets where he could experiment.”

Most recently, Dawson led Second Street’s packaging team.

The brewery’s website described Dawson as a great listener who was genuine, caring and quick with words and jokes. It added, shortly after Dawson started working at Second Street, he picked out individual Christmas gifts for everyone in the brewhouse.

“Mark was a wonderful guy and truly a great person to work with,” said Mariah Cameron Scee, director of art and branding at Second Street Brewery. “I always appreciated that when he asked a question, about how you were or what you did over the weekend, he was genuinely interested in the answer. He was thoughtful and kind, schooled us on music and made us laugh every day. All of us at Second Street miss him dearly.”

Rowley Farmhouse Ales, 1405 Maclovia St., in Santa Fe, is donating $1 of its United in Lemon pour to help with Dawson’s funeral and other expenses. The beer was a collaboration beer by Second Street and Rowley Farmhouse Ales created as part of United in Beer, which is a partnership with New Mexico United and its nonprofit Somos Unidos Foundation. Larger and smaller breweries team up to make a certain style of beer. This year, Second Street and Rowley were tasked with creating a Belgian-style beer. Dawson worked at Rowley before joining Second Street.

“I was so proud of Mark that day, as we watched him work and he had gained so much confidence since he moved on from us,” John Rowley wrote on the Rowley Instagram page, talking about the United in Lemon brewing day. “It was a joy seeing him thriving in his new environment. We will miss him dearly.”

Ebbie Edmonston, executive director of the New Mexico Brewers Guild, lost a dear friend and colleague.

“Mark was the best, he was reliable and caring, always willing to listen,” she said. “He never ceased to make you laugh with his humor and warm personality. He held a wealth of knowledge regarding comic books and music, but it was our shared love of craft beer and board games that solidified our friendship. Mark is sorely missed.”

Dawson’s loved ones have created a GoFundMe to help Navarro with unexpected costs and bills during this difficult time. Anyone interested in donating can go to gofundme.com and search “Support Tonya After Mark Dawson’s Passing.”

“I am endlessly proud of him and what he accomplished,” Navarro said. “May he be giving us a ‘cheers’ or ‘Skol!’ from the halls of Valhalla.”