Mary Beth Maddox

Beloved wife, step-mother, daughter, friend, consummate professional and adventurer, Mary Beth Maddox succumbed to pancreatic cancer at age 55. Never afraid of a challenge, Mary Beth fought her battle quietly with conviction and courage, supported by her husband, David Loose, and a small circle of family and friends.

Mary Beth was born on May 28, 1963, in Kokomo, Indiana to Floyd and Betty Maddox. She grew up in Kokomo amidst a large circle of friends and graduated from Haworth High School, class of 1981. Mary Beth received her bachelor’s degree from Ball State University and her master’s degree from Indiana University. She began her career at Kokomo Howard County Public Library and then went on to Delphi Automotive Systems in Indiana.

In 2001, Mary Beth left Indiana to work at The University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering. She served as the Director of Corporate Relations and then Director of Research Relations. Mary Beth’s talents to create opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across academic research groups with industry is now a legacy program for the university. In 2013, she took on a new challenge as executive director of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST) a Texas nonprofit focused on the promotion of cross-disciplinary research and knowledge sharing.

Throughout her career, Mary Beth was a stellar role model of leadership, especially to women. She always struck the right balance of tenacity and humor to get things done with utmost integrity. She was an alumna of Leadership Austin Class of 2007 and class representative to the Board (2007-2010). Mary Beth co-founded the national Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO) in 2007, serving as co-president and co-chair of the Board of Directors.

Apart from work, Mary Beth had many interests, most of which involved being outdoors, whether it was hiking through the Grand Tetons, flying with David, playing with her dog, Liberty, or planning upcoming Airstream adventures to the great American West. Mary Beth agreed with poet Robert Frost, “the woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

Mary Beth is survived by her husband, David Loose and his children Tim and Elizabeth Loose, her mother, Betty Maddox, brother Michael Maddox, and her nieces, Katie Beth, Anna, and Abby. The family would like to thank her cancer teams, in Austin led by Dr. Michael Kasper at Texas Oncology, and at M.D. Anderson by Dr. Robert Wolff.

A memorial service for Mary Beth will take place Thursday, Aug. 30 at 2 pm at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd. with a visitation at Cook-Walden from 5-7 pm on Aug. 29. Messages can be shared at dignitymemorial.com. In lieu of flowers, consider donating to World Wildlife Fund or the charity of your choice.