Necrology
Mark “Cat” Joseph Rybarczyk '77
Apr. 21, 1955-Apr. 18, 2023
Mark “Cat” Joseph Rybarczyk ’77 died on April 18, 2023, in Houston. Born in Auburn, N.Y., on April 21, 1955, he came to Hamilton from Auburn High School. A member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, Cat majored in English and was devoted to basketball. As one fraternity brother would later recall, “Cat was a lifetime hooper. His intense passion for the game equaled the big presence he brought every time he laced up his size fourteens and set two big feet on the court.”
He and his teammates made Hamilton a contender in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Netting only four wins in its 1972-73 season, the team notched 20 victories in each of Cat’s junior and senior seasons and triumphed in the ECAC Upstate Division III Championship in its 1975-76 season, the College’s first ECAC title in men’s basketball. Cat led the team in blocked shots and rebounds that year and, while serving as the team’s co-captain in his senior year, scored a career-high 30 points in a decisive win over Tufts.
For these accomplishments, Cat was honored at graduation with the Jean-Marius Gelas Memorial Award, presented to a senior student-athlete who displayed outstanding development in sportsmanship, leadership, character, and athletic ability during his College years.
From Hamilton, Cat went first to Albany Law School but quickly concluded that a legal career was not for him. He then enrolled in the Cornell University School of Business and Public Administration and earned a master’s degree in industrial and labor relations before starting a career in human resources.
His first job was with Shell Oil Co. in Houston. It was there that he also met Nancy Stroud, a manager of computing services. They were married in Auburn on July 8, 1989, and would have three daughters. That same year, having spent a short period of time as a vice president for Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Cat became one of seven founding executives of the Bisys Group, Inc., a business spun out of ADP to provide back office support for financial services companies. Cat was in charge of human resources and later involved in a number of mergers and acquisitions as executive vice president.
In 2005, Cat was again a co-founder, this time of Nosal Partners, an executive search firm, where he became the managing partner for the Southwest region of the U.S. and helped develop the company’s business plan. Four years later, he joined the U.K.-based global search firm Impellam Group’s North American division as vice president for human resources. In a press release about Cat’s appointment, Jim Boone, president of that North American operation, said, “Mark’s breadth of knowledge about all aspects of human resources combined with his executive-level management experience make him a valuable leader.”
Throughout his business career, basketball remained an important part of Cat’s life. He played in several adult leagues with former college and sometimes former professional players. On seven occasions, his three-on-three team qualified for the National Senior Games. Though not necessarily the star of his team, he brought a contagious enthusiasm for the sport, and his influence challenged his teammates to step up their play. When practices were over, he would frequently challenge a teammate to a best-of-three series of one-on-one. If he came up short, he would usually suggest they make it best out of five.
Not surprisingly, Cat’s daughters took up various sports, and he could be counted on to be in the crowd for all their games. His middle daughter, Jodi, was a tennis player at the regional and state level. Lacey and Robby’s sports were basketball and gymnastics, respectively, and both were cheerleaders and club lacrosse players at Southern Methodist University.
Cat was known for his competitive spirit and aggressive defense on the basketball court, but off of it he was known for his candor, humility, and sense of humor. It is clear that he found his work fulfilling. He was a mentor to many during his career, resulting in lifelong relationships with colleagues. The friendships he formed with fraternity brothers at Hamilton also endured.
Mark J. Rybarczyk is survived by his wife and three daughters.
— This memorial biography was written in collaboration with members of Hamilton’s Chapter of Psi Upsilon fraternity
