With great sadness, we mark the passing of Mark Vincent Van Staveren, a beloved figure in the Australian optical industry. Mark died on 31 May 2024 at age 64 after a courageous two-year battle with cancer.
He leaves behind his wife Carolyn, sons Alex and Adrian, daughter Tessa, and two grandchildren.
“Mark never complained. He never grizzled, he never whinged. He just battled his battle quietly and worked very hard at trying to get rid of it,” said his brother and business partner John Van Staveren. “We’ve really been ravaged by cancer in our family, unfortunately.”
Born into a close-knit family of nine children, Mark learned the optical business from a young age, working in his father’s garage repairing sunglasses on weekends. He started his apprenticeship in 1975 at Sola International, got married in 1980, and went on to manage labs for Smyth and Perkins Optical (later Shamir).
In 1988, Mark opened his own practice, Hastings Optical, which he owned until selling it last year to Theo Charalambous.
“He did business favouring relationships over profits. He was a beautiful soul who I will not forget”
John credits his exceptionally close relationship with Mark to their “love for each other as brothers” and later, their “mutual respect” as business partners having co-founded Van Staveren Eyewear in 2002.
While in business with John, Mark continued to operate Hastings Optical, however spent much of his time on the road in his new role travelling the length and breadth of Australia selling Van Staveren Eyewear products.
“I was the ideas man, but I’d bounce everything off Mark. He’d back me or offer great advice,” John said.
To acknowledge his brother, John named one of Van Staveren’s most successful eyewear collections after him – MarcVincent frames.
“He was a little embarrassed I named the brand after him, but it represents everything – he was a quiet achiever,” John explained.
Having been around for almost eight years now, one MarcVincent model – the bold, colourful Olympic – has sold an incredible 12,000 times.
“We worked with our frame manufacturer to design the model but it was Mark’s idea to really pump up the size and make it sing loud,” John recalled.
Though a private man, Mark’s character deeply impacted others across the industry. As one supplier wrote, “He did business favouring relationships over profits. He was a beautiful soul who I will not forget.”
In John’s poignant words, “Mark’s legacy is that we have a brand named after him, and I’m really proud of it. His name will live on with that brand as long as it exists. It represents him – all the things that he was.”
A funeral will be held for Mark at 10:30am this Friday, 7 June, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 362 Station Street, Chelsea in Melbourne.