Mark Fred Kightlinger, 65, died on Thursday, July 17, 2025 at Mass General Hospital in Boston as a result of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Mark spent most of the last 20 years in Lexington, KY, moving to Dennis, MA in late 2024 to be cared for by family as his disease progressed.

Mark was born on September 14, 1959, in Holden, MA to the late Pauline (Fischer) Kightlinger and Fred M Kightlinger, Jr. He graduated from Wachusett Regional High School in 1977. He received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Williams College in 1981. In 1983, he earned a B.A. from Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, England, followed by an M.A. a few years later. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1988, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Yale University in 1991.

Following Law School, Mark was a partner in the Covington & Burling law firm's Washington DC office. He was active in the firm's food law practice, focusing on the impact of federal bioterrorism legislation. From 1996 through 2001, he was based in the firm's Brussels office, where he advised leading technology companies on European Union laws and policies affecting the Internet, electronic commerce, online advertising, and data privacy. He also worked on a range of international trade issues, focusing on the WTO's approach to information technology and the Internet. In addition, he assisted Immigration Equality (formerly known as the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force) on a pro bono basis in their efforts to improve the treatment of bi-national same-sex couples under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.

The most gratifying years of Mark’s career were at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law (2004-2024). His scholarship focused on Internet law, legal education, and privacy issues, but, more importantly, he was an extraordinarily dedicated professor – rigorous, fair, and supportive. While committed to teaching anything from first year requirements to specialized seminars, Mark’s favorite, and final, course was a seminar in Jurisprudence, for which he loved to re-read Aristotle and other philosophers, continually revising lectures to offer the best experience for his students.

Mark will always be remembered for his dry wit; his warm generosity of heart, of attention, and of resources; and his love of family. Mark saw the best in people and encouraged them to find and achieve the best in themselves. Colleagues and students recall Mark reading, while walking the halls of the Law School – a habit that neighbors found equally amusing when COVID sent everyone home, and Mark took to walking the neighborhood while reading for work or pleasure. When ALS forced Mark to retire, his fondest memories were of his wonderful colleagues and the hundreds of students he had the honor to teach, and get to know, over the years.

Mark’s life was an ongoing pursuit of knowledge. He loved books, films, and music – amassing libraries of each throughout the years. One of Mark’s joys was compiling a list of books and music for each family member throughout the year, in preparation for birthday and Christmas gifts. Every Saturday, including during his final days, he listened to the Metropolitan Opera, live or recorded, and the world around him stopped until it finished.

Mark is survived, and dearly missed, by his sister, Lisa Kightlinger, and brother-in-law, Robert Salmon, of Dennis, MA, as well as nephew, Christopher Salmon, and niece, Karolena Salmon.

A memorial will be held in Lexington, KY at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Mark Kightlinger Scholarship Fund in the UK Rosenberg College of Law and help his legacy live on. Go to https://give.uky.edu, click “Make a Gift”, and type in “Kightlinger” under “Select Your Fund(s)” to support the Mark Kightlinger Scholarship. Alternatively, donations can be sent to Compassionate Care ALS, PO Box 1052, West Falmouth, MA 02574 or online at http://CCALS.org.

I'm sorry for your loss, I wish I could've met Mark, he seems like someone that I could've learned from. I'm sure that he will be truly missed and God bless.

During my decade of being Dean at UK Law, Mark was always a “go to” faculty member who never refused to help where he could. He actually volunteered to oversee the writing of one of the school’s reports for the ABA during one of our sabbatical site visits. Mark was a generous soul, and his presence in the halls of the law school building will be sorely missed. dab