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The passion and promise to Rio Communities will be Mark Gwinn’s legacy as his family, his friends and the community mourn his passing.
Gwinn, who was elected the city’s first mayor in 2013 after he helped secure its incorporation earlier that year, died on Saturday, Feb. 22, after suffering a stroke, his stepdaughter, Tina Dzuik said.
The former mayor fell ill in October 2019, and took a leave of absence from his position. Gwinn never fully recovered and never returned to office.
“He went into heart failure, and when they were trying to remedy that, there were other issues that made his recovery difficult,” Dzuik said. “He was starting to recover, but when Covid happened, everything went in reverse.”
Born in Belen in 1951, Gwinn grew up in the Hub City and his family moved to Rio Grande Estates (Rio Communities) in 1964. He graduated from Belen High School in 1969. He also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
He attended Western New Mexico University on a golf scholarship, where he played for the university’s golf team for four years. Gwinn graduated college in the spring of 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and psychology.
In August 1973, Gwinn began his long career with the Santa Fe Railroad as a switchman, working over the next 35 years in different positions and retiring as superintendent of operations of the Gallup substation in Belen.
Gwinn’s adoration for his community began years ago, always having a hand in making a difference, whether it was as president of the Rio Communities Association or as a ward chair for the Republican Party.
Dzuik said her stepfather retired from BNSF earlier than he planned to take care of her mother and his wife, Carolyn, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. When she died in 2008, Gwinn was adamant in honoring his late wife, after 29 years of marriage, by becoming involved and was the organizer for the local Relay for Life, a cancer charity walk for the American Cancer Society.
“Being a widower, he was looking to find things to fill his time. He was passionate about the community, and he was looking to get more services into Rio Communities,” Dzuik said. “The issue back then was that the county didn’t have the resources for the residents. Incorporation was just a way to get more resources into the area, to fix the roads and parks.”
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The last effort to incorporate Rio Communities was the third time it was attempted. The incorporation was approved by a vote of 672 in favor to 391 against — 63 percent to 37 percent.
“This is a great, great moment for us,” Gwinn said at the time of incorporation. “We are off and running onto the next step ... People are ready to move forward ...”
Dzuik said while she’s grateful people remember Gwinn as someone who led the charge for incorporation, he always credited those who stood with him and worked tirelessly in the effort.
“It was never about him,” she said. “It was about the city; about the people.”
In May 2013, voters elected its first governing body, with Gwinn as the mayor.
“We have a large responsibility from our community in the next year,” Gwinn said after he was elected. “There is a lot that we have to do — pull everyone together and get them on the same page.
“We have four councilors who are from different walks of life and they will all bring their vision of what they want us to be — and it will be great.”
When he took his medical leave, Gwinn had planned to return to office, but when his health continued to decline, it was clear that it wasn’t going to be possible.
“He always thought he was going to go back,” Dzuik said. “He loved the city; he loved the people and felt a responsibility as mayor. He was always the protector; always wanting to take care of people.
“Not being able to be there and to be mayor he felt he wasn’t living up to his obligation,” she said. “But as his condition got worse, he wasn’t thinking about being mayor anymore; he was just trying to survive.”
Gwinn was in and out of the hospital and skilled nursing facilities for the first three years, and was able to live the last two years with his family, including Dzuik, and his grandchildren, Alec, Tyler and Kay, in Portales.
Jim Winters met Gwinn 19 years ago in 2006 when Gwinn was active in the Rio Communities Association. He remembers his friend was the liaison of sorts with Valencia County.
“When residents had a problem with services, they knew he could help,” Winters said of Gwinn. “I started having breakfast with him two to three times a week, and we would talk about problems and then about solutions.”
Winters said while Gwinn was very active in the incorporation effort, he wasn’t as he was still working, although he remembers he “probably” voted in favor of it.
“Whether you liked him or not, he was someone who could get something done,” Winters said of the former mayor. “He made sure he kept politics out of local government.”
Winters remembers the times when he and Gwinn would run trash detail once a week.
“A lot of times, we would be out picking up trash — tires, mattresses or whatever was out there — in the desert,” he remembers. “He would use his old truck and I’m not sure where he took it but he would make sure it was cleaned up.”
Winters, who has served on the city council, the economic development committee and the planning and zoning commission — twice — hasn’t been able to visit with Gwinn for more than five years due to his illness.
“I miss talking to him, and he always had a different perspective of things, which is always good” he said. “He tried his best to do things for the city, and not everything was perfect, but his heart was there. He cared for the city.”
Robert Auge was a lifelong friend of Gwinn, having grown up with him through elementary school and graduating the same year.
“We were both in the Class of 1969,” Auge remembers. “We went back a considerable number of years. He was a pretty typical kid. We had our times riding our bicycles, and we had our fair share of backyard basketball games and football games.
“He was always a decent, good friend. I never had a fist fight with him or I never had to throw him in a ditch,” Auge joked. “Come to think of it, he never had to throw me in a ditch either.”
Auge remembers he was surprised when his friend got into politics, but thought he did a great job for his community.
“He was an outstanding character, the way he treated and took care of people. He was the salt of the earth.
“He always treated me with a great deal of respect, and he will be missed,” Auge said. “He did many good things.”
Robert Chavez, who was appointed to the city council by Gwinn after another councilor resigned, said he remembers meeting the former mayor in 2013.
“I met Mark when I was assistant principal at La Merced and he was involved in the school’s parent organization,” Chavez remembers. “It was after that that he asked me to be involved in the city.
Chavez said Gwinn enjoyed being involved in his community, and wanted to be inclusive of everyone and invited them to be involved in any decision made for the city.
“He was a good-hearted person, who had a big passion for the city,” Chavez said. “He was all about the city and the citizens. Everything he did, even through the difficult times, was to move the city forward.”
During Monday night’s Rio Communities City Council meeting, Mayor Joshua Ramsell led the council, the staff and the community in a moment of silence in honor of Gwinn.
“The city of Rio Communities offers its deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Mark Gwinn, our first and founding mayor,” said Rio Communities Mayor Joshua Ramsell. “As our first mayor, he left behind a lasting legacy of service to our city, and was both a friend and untiring advocate for our community. He will be sorely missed.”
