Deaths Deaths (December 15, 2004)

Art Bayce

Art Bayce, 80, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died Oct. 7.

Curiosity, passion and endless interests motivated him throughout his life. A professor, scientist, consultant, photographer, author, volunteer, guide and tinkerer, he loved science, nature and art.

Born in Cleaveland, Ohio, to Slovene and Italian parents, he grew up in Oakland and resided in California since the age of nine. He attended UC Berkeley, earning his bachelor's degree in Chemistry and a master's degree in Metallurgy. He then earned a master's degree in Education at San Jose State. He was a chemist at Colgate for many years, and as a metallurgist at the Stanford Research Institute, then as an associate professor in the Materials Engineering Department at San Jose State University before retiring in 1991.

Joining the Barron Park Association Board in his neighborhood in 1964, he served on the board as Traffic Chair for eight years, formed the Emergency Preparedness Committee in 1982 and contributed to Living with our Faults (which was distributed in various cities throughout California), supported the ToxSafe Committee, the Creek Committee, and represented his neighborhood on two Blue Ribbon Committees of the City of Palo Alto.

He was a member of the Citizen Advisory committee and was appointed by the City Manager to the committee that revised Palo Alto's Disaster Preparedness Management Plan.

In a letter to a friend regarding his mother's death, he wrote that he was thankful for all that his mother had taught him. He learned from her kindness the importance of helping others and giving back to society. His philosophy was that if he could enrich the lives of those around him, it would serve as a tribute to all she had done for him.

He lived a selfless, energetic life.

He is survived by countless lifelong friends, cousins, two goddaughters, students and neighbors.

Friends are invited to attend a celebration of the life Sunday, Dec. 19, at 2:30 p.m. in the Fireside Room of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Road, Palo Alto. In honor of his 40 years of service to his neighborhood, the Barron Park Association Board is graciously planting a tree in Bol Park in his memory. Donations in his name may be made to the Sierra Club, Habitat for Humanity and the Barron Park Association.

Byron "Bill" Brown, Jr.

Byron "Bill" Brown, Jr., 74, one of the nation's foremost biostatisticians and the former chair of the Department of Health Policy and Research at Stanford University, died Nov. 30 of a heart attack.

In more than 30 years at Stanford, he worked on studies in such diverse fields as cancer treatment, anesthesia practices, rheumatology and women's health. He was particularly interested in the design of clinical trials and how new medical technologies were assessed for their safety and effectiveness.

"He had a tremendous impact here at Stanford, building clinical research and building biostatistics to its current level of excellence," said Mark Hlatky, MD, PhD and his successor as department chair.

A consultant for 10 years to the National Academy of Science, he participated in its celebrated study of variation in surgical death rates. He authored numerous journal publications, including a landmark paper in 1981 on the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He also wrote several books, including the popular book, co-written with Myles Hollander, "Statistics: A Biomedical Introduction." He received many honors and was elected in 1990 to the prestigious Institute of Medicine. He served as the president of the Society for Clinical Trials and of the Western North American Region of the International Biometric Society.

Born in Chicago and raised in Redwing, Minn., he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1952, receiving his master's degree in 1955 and his doctorate in 1959. He served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota for nine years, becoming the chair of the Division of Biometry. In 1968, he joined Stanford's full-time faculty as a professor of biostatistics. He became the chair of the newly restructured Department of Health Research and Policy in 1988. He served as department chair until 1996, when Hlatky assumed the position.

Ron Levy, MD, professor and chief of the division of oncology, called him "a gentleman, a scholar and a good friend. He was constantly teaching how to seek the truth while warning us how difficult that is. It was amazing to learn how many projects he was simultaneously involved with and how many collaborations he had. We will all miss him dearly."

He retired from Stanford in 1998 but remained active as an emeritus faculty member. He continued to be involved in the medical school's ongoing efforts to have its cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. An avid bird watcher, he volunteered at the university's Jasper Ridge Biological Reserve. He also loved to garden and maintained an extensive cactus collection.

He leaves behind his wife, Jan; five children, Bill, Eric, Madeleine, Mark and Lisa; and three grandchildren. His son, Alan, died in 1979.

Funeral services will be private. A memorial service is planned for a later date. The family suggests contributions to the Nature Conservancy in his memory.

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