Quiet Brilliance: Remembering Mark Douglas Costner

Basic Information

Family, origin story, and the small life that echoes

When you study family histories, sometimes what lingers longest is not a long career or a shelf of trophies, but a single date that bends the arc of a household—an ember that quietly shapes the rest of the fire. Mark Douglas Costner’s life is one of those ember-dates: January 17–18, 1953. He arrived and departed in a 24-hour frame, and yet his presence—recorded in obituaries, memorials, and family trees—becomes a lens through which the Costner family’s wider story reads more tenderly.

I say “lens” because I spent time assembling the fragments that remain: a name on a memorial page, a short notice in a cemetery record, the repeated family listing that puts him between his parents and his brothers. In that stitching you can see the family blueprint: William (Bill) Costner, a working man who moved through trades and utilities; Sharon Rae (Tedrick) Costner, whose life is described around child-rearing and the household; two boys who survived into adulthood—Daniel (Dan) and Kevin Michael Costner. The youngest surviving son, Kevin, would later become a household name in cinema—“Dances with Wolves,” “Field of Dreams,” the iconography of cowboy hats and sweeping skies—but within the family ledger, Mark’s name is both fragile and permanent.

Families keep numbers. Here are a few that help anchor the story: 1953—the year Mark was born and died; 1955—the year Kevin Costner was born; 1—the number of days between Mark’s birth and death. Those are stark figures—almost clinical—until you imagine them against the hum of a 1950s household: rotary phones, the smell of coffee, a young couple balancing bills and infant care. It’s cinematic in a quieter register.

Family table — introductions

The career and net worth story — what isn’t there

This is a section about absence—which itself is meaningful. Mark Douglas Costner did not have a career, public life, or personal net worth to document; his life ended in infancy. Which means, in the ledger of employment, titles, and balance sheets, there’s nothing to list. In human terms, that absence becomes part of the family narrative: the quiet remembrance between birthdays, the way later children’s milestones fold into a memory of the child they never met. I think of it like a film cut—one scene removed, the rest of the movie still shaped by the gap.

If you’re expecting numbers tied to fame—net worth, box office, awards—those belong to Kevin Costner, not Mark. But the family’s story shows how a personal loss in 1953 threaded through a family that, by the 1980s and 1990s, would be written about in magazines and profiled on entertainment pages.

Public mentions, memorials, and social echoes

Mark’s public traces are simple and solemn: memorial pages, cemetery listings, and genealogical entries that preserve name and date. There are no interviews, no social-media posts by Mark (obviously), and no scandal or gossip attached to his brief life. Instead, his name appears as a quiet line in a larger family list—an underscore in the soundtrack of a family that later enters pop culture.

Still, a name that exists in records gets remembered. People leave virtual flowers on memorial pages; descendants read family trees and say aloud a name during a reunion; an obituary from 1953—short, factual—holds its place on a registry. Those are small public acts, but they keep the ember warm.

A cinematic aside — the family as a scene

If you imagine the Costner family as a scene in one of Kevin’s movies, Mark would be one of those silent characters who changes how the camera lingers on others—the bereft mother, the father with his jaw set; the brothers who learn to measure joy and caution across the calendar. “Field of Dreams” asked, “If you build it, will he come?”—family lore asks a different question: if you name a child and then lose him, how does that name shape the lives that follow? That’s the pulse here: modest, human, quietly resonant.

FAQ

Who was Mark Douglas Costner?

Mark Douglas Costner was an infant born on January 17, 1953, who died the following day; his name appears in family records and memorial listings.

Who were his parents?

His parents were William (Bill) Costner and Sharon Rae (Tedrick) Costner.

Did Mark have siblings?

Yes—he is listed as sibling to Daniel (Dan) Costner and Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955).

Did Mark have a career or public life?

No; Mark died in infancy and therefore left no career or public record beyond memorial entries.

Is Mark related to Kevin Costner?

Yes—Mark is an older brother of Kevin Costner, making him an uncle (posthumously) to Kevin’s children.

Where is Mark remembered publicly?

He appears in cemetery records, memorial pages, and genealogical listings that preserve his birth and death dates.

Are there news stories or gossip about Mark?

No; because his life ended in infancy, public mentions are limited to factual family records rather than news or gossip.

How old was Mark when he died?

He was one day old—born January 17, 1953, and died January 18, 1953.