Beloved husband and devoted father Marc Thomas Hardekopf died unexpectedly on November 20, 2018, in Orlando, Florida.
Marc held a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Central Florida, where he graduated summa cum laude. He was a top graduate of New York Law School and was licensed to practice law in New York and Florida. He spent the majority of his professional career as Assistant General Counsel at the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission. He married his wife, Tracy Zanco, in 2006 and enjoyed several years with her traveling and living in New York before they relocated to Orlando in 2010.
Following the birth of his first born daughter, Kayla, Marc realized that he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his children. Soon after his second daughter, Keira, was born, he retired early at the age of 36. He embraced his role as a stay-at-home dad to his girls and happily spent time with them swimming, going to parks, and meeting up with friends. He was an avid investor and famously frugal. He saved on the little things to enable himself to splurge on travel. He loved to plan trips for his family and together they visited New York, the Bahamas, Las Vegas, Iceland, the Cayman Islands, and Italy. He also enjoyed spending time with his friends and often helped them with financial advice and travel plans. He was incredibly proud of his daughters and volunteered at their school, attended his daughter Kayla's soccer games, and took both daughters to swimming lessons. He was incredibly happy with his accomplishments in life and appreciated every day. He would pause to watch a sunset and would literally stop to smell roses. He spent what would be the last days of his life doing the things that he loved: spending time with his family, seeing friends, and traveling. Although his life ended too soon, Marc did more in his 42 years than many people do in twice that time.
Marc was a longtime blood donor, so, in lieu of flowers (which he thought were a complete waste of money), please consider making a donation to the American Red Cross of Central Florida.
https://www.redcross.org/local/florida/central-florida/ways-to-donate.html
A Graveside Service will be held on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 at 2:00 pm at Greenwood Cemetery, 1603 Greenwood St, Orlando, FL 32801.
To leave a message of condolence to his family, or to share a memory you have of Marc, please visit the guestbook below.