THE FACTS

WHEN I MET MARK

I met Mark Haddad at the end of 2003 here in Denver at the Thursday night tournament at the Family Fun Center, he was traveling with Billy Palmer and Larry Johnson in two cars but had to make a pitstop because his car was giving him problems while he was on the road traveling from CA to TX for a tournament.

He left his car with a local mechanic and, just after meeting me, he asked me if I could go and pick up his car and take it to my house, and on the way back from Texas in a month or so, he would pick it up. After returning to Denver a few weeks later to pick up his car, he stayed with me for a month or so, and the rest is history.

MARK'S 1ST CAR ACCIDENT

Mark had reconstructive nose surgery after getting in a horrible accident as a teenager, and over the years, he developed extreme sleep apnea.

IN THE BEGINNING

In January 2004, I was hired to become the house pro at the Wynkoop in Downtown Denver.

Mark and I tried to do the long-distance relationship thing, meeting in Valley Forge and Vegas for the BCA, but we could not stand leaving each other after each trip.

Mark moved to Denver in the fall of 2004.

WHEN MARK ASK ME TO MARRY HIM

In the summer of 2006, Mark and I traveled to Sacramento to play in the Jamboree. I won the women’s event, and I finished 5th in the men’s open, and Mark got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

WHEN WE MARRIED ON PAPER

In the fall of 2006, the Wynkoop offered open enrollment for health insurance coverage to additional family members, including husbands, wives, and children, with one stipulation that you must show a marriage certificate or sign an affidavit of common law marriage.

So, it was official: Mark and I tied the paper knot on Halloween 2006. Of course, that is not how we wanted to get married. We wanted a big wedding for friends and both families that included a church ceremony and honeymoon.

We tried to correct his sleep apnea with multiple reconstructive nose and throat surgeries, but by the end, the surgeries were only 50% successful.

Mark hated Halloween, so he changed our anniversary date to the same day as his son was born, August 19th, this way, he would never forget our day He said that two life-changing and happiest days of his life were on that date!

MY FAMILY & MARK

Mark was very close to my family; he treated my mother like his own. He loved my grandfather Gabe, and he helped my uncle Steve continuously cleaning his house, doing laundry, and taking him grocery shopping.

OUR PLANS AFTER DEATH

Most of my family is buried at Green Mountain Cemetery in Boulder, CO, including my Grandpa Gabe, Grandma Marge, Uncle Steve, Great Grandmother Lillian, and even some of the “Little’s.” After the death of my grandfather, my mom, stepdad Dan, Mark, and I went to the cemetery to reserve and purchase plots for when we leave this earth.

My parents purchased two plots next to my grandpa, and Mark and I soft-saved a plot next to them (Mark would be buried, and I would be cremated, but both of us would be in the same plot).

MARK’S SIBLINGS

There were (4) Haddad siblings: Darlene (who suddenly passed in 2022), Alex (who was murdered in 1994), Mark (in 2024), and Stanley (who passed in a motorcycle accident in April 2024).

WHY WAS MARK ON THE ROAD

Since Stanley passed away, both Mark and I had to pay for Stanley’s burial services, and that put us behind on our bills. I have not worked or played competitively since the end of 2019, before the pandemic. Mark has been my caretaker since having those 13 surgeries.

Since I am still healing, Mark asked Tommy to stay with me and Bella while he was traveling, he helped me take Bella up and down the three flights of stairs and do chores around the house.

THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE

On Thursday, July 11th, 2024, I was Facetiming with Mark, and I heard a horrible noise coming from the truck, and I witnessed the truck trembling back and forth. I quickly asked what that was, and he responded that he thought they might have had a blowout. He assured me that he would check it out and call me back.

Sure enough, they had a blowout, but the good news was they were directly across the street from a tire store. A couple of hours passed, and Mark called me and said he had replaced the back two tires, and they were back on the road.

The next day, Mark asked me to be on standby because he wanted me to get him a one-way ticket to Las Vegas and that he was done with that area of the country. He said it was too spread out and not enough action for him.

WHEN I FOUND OUT MARK DIED

By 5:30 PM, I was getting a Facetime call from his son Mark Jr., and when I curiously answered, I saw Jr in a wheelchair with a neck brace on, and his face was swollen, bruised, and battered. My first instinct was that he must have gotten into some sort of fight or something.

He started screaming he’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone! I said who is gone? He said my dad is dead. I completely lost my mind and started screaming NOOOOOO! My heart sunk into my chest, and I couldn’t breathe for a few minutes. I started screaming and throwing things off my desk like a complete lunatic! He said let me call you back.

The first person I called was Billy Palmer, who I shared the bad news with, and he said I know I heard. It didn’t register for a while till I thought about it. When was I called, obviously not immediately after the accident occurred?

The rest of the evening, I called my immediate family, and my mom came to our house and ended up staying with me for a week. Thankfully!

That first weekend, I didn’t leave our house, I stayed indoors crying, thinking, praying, dreaming, and assumingly concluded that it was going to cost me an arm and a leg to get Mark home. That is when I started my first GoFundMe account.

All weekend, I was on Facetime talking with Jr, checking on his status and whether he was going to have to have surgery for his double-fractured neck or not.

On Monday, miraculously, they released Jr from the hospital, stating that his injury would heal on its own.

WHEN THINGS STARTED GOING SOUTH

I called a childhood friend, John, who owns Greenwood and Myers Mortuary, asking him a hundred questions about what my next steps were on how to bring Mark home. Thankfully, he helped me with the process of contacting the morgue, their local mortuary, and GA transportation.

Then, suddenly, Jr. texts me and says that his dad told him that he wanted to be buried with his family in California. What? No, Mark and I have arrangements already set in place.

The next day, I called the morgue and introduced myself to the agent, and he told me that Jr. was the next of kin and wanted Mark to be sent to California. I explained that I was his next of kin as his wife, and Mark and I had been together for 20 years.

GOING TO THE CO COURTS

The next day, my mother and I went to the courts here in Colorado, and I applied for myself, his surviving wife, to become his PR in probate. I called the morgue agent back to explain the process, and at that point, he had already sent Mark to their local mortuary.

After calling, explaining, and emailing the GA mortuary, he assured me that he would wait to transfer Mark after the court’s decision.

Sunday, I received a call from one of Mark’s long-time friends informing me that he had heard that Mark’s body was already in CA. I said NO WAY!

SHIPPING MARK TO CA

Monday, first thing in the morning, I called the GA mortuary, touching base with him and telling him I was still waiting to hear back about the court’s decision. He says well, you don’t need to wait any longer because I have already shipped Mark’s body to CA.

HIRING AN ATTORNEY & PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

I could not believe what I was hearing! I had no other choice but to hire an attorney!

Because Mark’s kids would not share their addresses with me or my attorney, I had to hire a private investigator to find their current locations so they could get served the court documents.

At this point, CO courts had sent the CA mortuary a court order to stop them from burying Mark’s body until an appointment was made. Two weeks later, I was awarded the PR position.

WEST COAST SERVICES

Meanwhile, his family organized a funeral that I was not a part of at all. They made a photo montage that did not include me or Bella. Friends of Mark’s who attended the CA funeral admitted that his two girls (Me and Bella) were never even mentioned once during those services.

I was never allowed to say goodbye to my Mark, the love of my life, my soulmate, my best friend, and my husband of 20 years.

If I were rich, I would bring Mark home and have him laid to rest where we had planned together. But in my heart, I know he is between his brother and sister, and his baby brother Stan was cremated and placed in the same plot as Mark.

WHERE DID THE MONEY GO

Most of the money went towards attorney fees, court filing fees, private investigator, Mark’s CO celebration of life ceremony, Bella’s emergency eye infection, and one of Mark’s accounts dipped into the negative.

Thankfully, the mortgage company worked with me on any payments owed to be placed on the back end of the loans due to Mark’s passing.

WHAT I NEED IMMEDIATE HELP WITH NOW

I have zero money coming in and am overwhelmed with incoming bills. If I could get an estimated two-month Kickstarter to get back on my feet, I could see some light at the end of the tunnel.

New (2) mortgage payments, HOA fees, phone, internet, people food, dog food, water bill, taxes, utilities, applications, a small amount of gas for the Beatle, and some essentials for the next two months or so.

I have been working on a project for the past three years that is nearly finished and will bring in some extra revenue once it’s up and going.

I appreciate all of you who have contributed to my fundraisers, and I know that Mark is appreciative and proud, too! Every little bit counts in my life right now, so thank you from the bottom of my heart, I know I’ll feel better soon, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

A special thank you to Damian for the new memorial “Jam Up” Mark Haddad shirts that will be coming out soon, some of the financial proceeds will benefit our little family (Bella and me). And to Zooster’s (Dan and Chad) for hosting a benefit fundraising tournament this weekend to benefit us as well!

Sorry this is so long, but I felt the need to explain all that I have been through the past couple of months, and it’s a good way to move forward in the healing department.

And who knows, maybe I'll start playing pool again once I am able.

Melissa Little