ESSEX, M.d. — It was one month ago that Baltimore City Fire lost a 23-year veteran of the force and every day since has been filed with grief for his parents, Robin and Mark Dranbauer Sr.
But it's also come with an unexpected gift— the many stories of Mark Dranbauer Jr.'s humility, commitment to others, and his zeal for life.
It was the laughs, and the smiles that came from those stories that have gotten the Dranbauers through these last few weeks.
"We are very sad, don't get me wrong, but we have been blessed every day of the week from the minute I got that phone call," his mother Robin said. “I know we want to say he was a hero, but Mark wouldn't want me to say he was a hero," she said.
Stories were shared how Dranbauer convinced a fellow firefighter to stay on the job, even when she wanted to quit. How he embraced the Santa Claus costume, on more than one occasion.
“We have been proud of him from the minute he came in this world," Robin said. "But to hear this, I'm not sure 'proud' is enough.”
Of course, the Dranbauers had an idea themselves. Like when their son took them in while they were in-between homes.
“He did more for us than you can ever imagine. He's in Heaven, he's being blessed because all the things he's done," Mark Sr. said.
Doctors still don't know what caused their 44-year-old son's sudden medical episode while he was two stories high on a ladder while fighting a roof fire on May 12. They may never know, as testing while he was hospitalized at Shock Trauma revealed no insights.
“We truly believe that it was his time and I was in control and we'll see him again," Robin said.
Since then, they've begun advocating for organ donation. Their son's ultimate selfless act that will help an estimated 20 to 30 lives.
But even the smallest acts of kindness, they say, can honor their son’s legacy.
"It doesn't have to be anything real big and even if it's just opening the door to the store and saying 'Good Morning,'" Robin said. " To be kind and considerate and not dwell on what's happening around us. It's really important now and that's who he was."
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Outside of his commitment to the Baltimore City community as a firefighter, Dranbauer also spent a lot of his free time at the Charm City Punisher's Club in Essex, where his motorcycle jacket, photo and favorite bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey serves as a fitting tribute for a man who found his peace on the roads with friends.
There, he was known as "Mr. Breeze" a nickname that came from when Dranbauer was so inspired by a good song to speed ahead from his best friend on the highway.
A story that now gets a little chuckle that goes a long way in Dranbauer's absence.
