Col Mark H. Terrel was born May 27, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois to John Ernest and Winifred Burns Terrel.

The family moved to Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City; and Glendale, California where Mark graduated from Hoover High School. He attended Brown Military Academy in San Diego, then the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army. The following 4th of July, he and Elaine Felton were married at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served with the 76th Infantry Division in Belgium and Germany during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. After the war he attended Princeton University, receiving a master’s degree in nuclear physics. He and his wife Elaine were stationed in Turkey and Spain before he was ordered to Korea.

After other tours of duty, he served in Vietnam. He and his wife then moved to Corvallis, Oregon where he was assigned as the Professor of Military Science at Oregon State University. He retired from the Army in 1972 following completion of his tour at OSU.

Col Terrel was active in the Corvallis Rotary Club, serving as president in 1979-80 and helped start the Rotary Club in Philomath. He was an honorary member of both clubs. He was a member of the Military Officers Club of Corvallis (formerly the Retired Officers Club of Corvallis) and served as its president in 1975. He also served as president of the Oregon Council of Chapters for three years.

Col Terrel served as precinct chairman of the Republican Party and at the time of America’s 200th birthday, he served as chairman of the Benton County Bi-Centennial celebration. He enjoyed his family, reading, and fishing.

Mark passed away on August 8, 2000 and is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughter, Katie, and sons, John and Douglas; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

The [Col Mark H. Terrel] memorial scholarship was established by his family and friends to honor his memory and support the education of the Army ROTC cadets at Oregon State University and Western Oregon University.

Source: Oregon State University