Brian Douglas Marx

Always ready with a friendly greeting for people walking by his house near City Park, LSU Professor of Experimental Statistics Brian Marx was also a dedicated, popular teacher, the author or co-author of several books and scores of articles on P-splines, regression models, and other statistical topics, and was named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 2018. A Midwesterner with strong roots in Dearborn, Michigan, he loved simple good times with his family and friends, sitting by fires with hot coffee or on beaches with cold beer. But he was also energetic and hard-working, running daily since high school wherever he found himself, biking across Nebraska many summers with friends, hiking the Grand Canyon multiple times, fishing in coastal marshes, and collecting and splitting firewood. He edited the journal Statistical Modelling for twenty years, participated yearly in the International Workshop on Statistical Modeling, enjoyed teaching intensive courses in the Rotterdam Erasmus Summer Program and short courses at the University of Göttingen and elsewhere in Europe, and was a frequent statistical consultant and expert witness--he was especially honored to be able to help Albert Woodfox achieve his freedom. Outgoing, genuine, loyal, almost always happy, Brian was grateful for his family and for his life. Brian died of brain cancer at home with his family on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021. He leaves his spouse Alexandra (Alli) Reuber; his children Sophia Lockwood Marx of San Francisco and Leopold August Marx of Baton Rouge; his mother Diana Anne Otremba Marx of Dearborn, MI; his sisters Diana Marx Prosi of Grosse Ile, MI, Christine Anne Allen (Kameron) of Bay City, MI, Caroline Marx Kowalski (Steve) of Flemington, NJ, and Karen Marx Arceo (Doug) of Birmingham, MI, and four of his best friends, Paul Eilers of The Netherlands, Frank Rossi of Chicago, Michael Beck of Baton Rouge, and Chris DeGiulio of Milford, MI. Brian’s father, Arnold Leslie Marx, is deceased. A memorial service will be held at the LSU Faculty Club at noon on December 13, 2021. Donations in Brian’s memory may be made to Boys Hope Girls Hope of New Orleans or the National Brain Tumor Society.