“To say that Mark made an impact wherever he went or on whoever, it’s for real.”

Michael Brotz spent some time Friday sharing how his brother-in-law, Mark Anthony Palumbo Jr., made that impact. One way was meeting people through his business, Madison Avenue Salon in Madison, where he was a part owner and a stylist. He was also a firefighter and owner of MAP Auto Detailing.

“He kind of had his hand in a few things but everything he did, he did it with passion,” Brotz said. The two were firefighters together and were close friends. Brotz eventually married Palumbo’s sister, something Brotz joked didn’t come easy at first, but their family bond grew stronger.

News of his death Wednesday spread beyond the family and made its way through town.

“I’m sure he’s going to – the family will – get a lot of support because his father is a businessman here so they all know the family,” said Earl Carta, a longtime resident of Madison.

Palumbo died Wednesday evening on I-95 in Westbrook. He was driving his prized 2014 red Ford Mustang when he was hit by a wrong-way driver. Troy Bree, of Groton, is charged with OUI and reckless driving.

“The biggest thing is that driving under the influence of alcohol or substances is intolerable,” Brotz said. “People really need to think about the damage that they can cause and the lives that they can change in the blink of an eye. And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night.”

“I just want to see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added. “I don’t have a lot of forgiveness in my heart right now.”

The Palumbo family is working through levels of grief over Mark’s death. There’s a numbness for some, and others say laughter is helping the tight family support each other.

“I just loved Mark and I loved spending time with him, and I loved the person he was and how he cared for people.”

His brother-in-law says Palumbo’s love grew, and he softened a bit, when he and his wife Amanda welcomed their two girls Carina and Mia.

“Those girls just brought him so much joy and happiness it changed his life in a way that I don’t even think he expected that it could,” Brotz said.

And those are thoughts they hold onto as they try to imagine life without him. There is an outpouring of support for the family on social media. Brotz says it’s not something they expected, but they’re finding comfort in all the messages they’re reading.

“He was a gift to the world. I can’t really say more than that.”