Mourners will gather Saturday at the First Parish Church in Yarmouth to celebrate the life of Mark Hough, a former Yarmouth town councilor, longtime Rotarian and general contractor, who died Saturday after suffering a heart attack while shoveling snow. He was 54.

Mr. Hough served on the Town Council from 2004 to 2010, including a stint as chairman. He was active on numerous town boards such as the zoning board of appeals, the harbor and waterfront committee and the Cumberland Country budget advisory committee. He also served on the shellfish conservation commission for Yarmouth and North Yarmouth.

Mr. Hough was remembered by town officials Thursday as a man who cared deeply about the community. Nat Tupper, town manager of Yarmouth, said he was an advocate for the harbor and waterfront community. He said Mr. Hough fought hard for residents and wasn’t shy about expressing his opinion.

“Mark had strong opinions on a lot of things, but he had a great capacity to understand where people were coming from,” Tupper said. “He was unpolished in a lot of regards. He frequently got frustrated trying to express his opinions on things, (but) everyone knew he was trying to do the right thing. At his core, he was a decent, public and spirited person. He didn’t have any meanness about him.”

Mr. Hough’s passion for town politics led to a bid for a seat in House District 107 in 2012. He lost the race to his Democratic opponent by a vote of 3,217 to 2,140.

Mr. Hough was a dedicated member of the Yarmouth Rotary Club and very active in the community. He was co-founder of the Royal River Fishing Tournament, co-director of the Yarmouth Clam Festival Parade, and served on the Clam Festival Steering Committee.

Patrick Powers, a Yarmouth real estate agent and longtime friend, said Mr. Hough was a leader in the community.

“He was a great thinker,” Powers said. “He wasn’t afraid of a challenge. He didn’t follow the crowd. Whether it was a chamber-related event, the clam festival or Rotary, he would look at a situation and come up with something the average person would never think of. He was always looking for a better solution. …He always had people’s best interests at heart.”

Mr. Hough was previously married to Barbara Wheaton for 26 years. The couple raised two children. His daughter, Hillary Hough, recalled the summers he took them on his boat, Sea Story, and taught them how to clam.

“Dad was always teaching us something,” his daughter said in an email. “He told us his goal was to teach us everything he knew. He was the coolest dad.”

Mr. Hough was a self-employed building contractor and former owner of Huffy’s Sandwich shop on Route 1 in Yarmouth. He also spent time working as a clammer and lobsterman. Powers said he was a good friend to many and a great conversationalist.

“He could communicate with anyone,” his friend said. “It was an art for Mark. He loved conversation. It didn’t matter who he was talking to – the president of the United States or an inmate. He was a nice guy, a good friend, and he made me a better man.”

Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:

mcreamer@pressherald.com

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