Marcus James Stansberry

Marcus James Stansberry, born June 14, 1988 in Texas City, TX departed the felicity of life at age thirty-seven on March 16th in Houston, TX after a long illness. He was the beloved son of Janet Lawson and Paul Stansberry.

Marcus was a shining light in the lives of all who had the privilege of knowing him. His passing has left a void in the hearts of his family, friends and many more whose lives were touched by his.

Marcus is survived by his loving parents Janet and Paul, brother Christopher, sister-in-law Nydia, and nephew Maverick. He leaves behind many family members including cousins David, Marisa, Evan, Sydney, Greg, Allison, Meghan, Jumanne and their families. Deeply loved by many, his friends cannot be fully numbered due to his genuinely gregarious nature.

A Renaissance Man of the digital era, Marcus seemed at ease with whatever process he engaged, sampling freely from the variety of experiences of life, excelling at many. A master of language, he surprised his grade school teachers with playful, insightful poetry at an early age. As a generous athletic competitor, more interested in the process than the prize, he was a Bailey Middle School “All Around Athlete” participating in all eight sports offered.

Bowie High School fertilized his active mind with memorable teachers and a raft of close friends of the nerd squad who plotted better ways to run the world. Surprising them, he went out for varsity football, playing middle linebacker coordinating the defense by reading the offensive formations. Other eclectic interests led to his Science Festival award for a project demonstrating differential alcohol content in the fermentation of various plants, presaging his later expertise in the joy of beer and single malt Scotch. Always with a song in his heart, music was central to his karma, as manifested in passion for hip-hop slam poetry and performance of a rhythmic recitation of Saul Williams and his own poem garnering the “Mister Bulldog” award in his senior year.

Loosely following his father’s footsteps, he matriculated at Rice University and began to focus on what he thought was important: friends, fun and satisfying his curiosity about the world. Concerned about the planet, his first major was Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Kind faculty mentorship led to published science on the relationship of flower color to pollinator attractions in an alpine valley of Colorado. Marcus’s head was turned by the importance of statistical analysis in science that separates the real from the perceived. Needing to understand the complex analytics determining what is truth versus seeming, he added a second major in Statistics and spent an extra year at Rice contemplating advanced practical mathematics. Not to be a total nerd, he distinguished himself as Sid Richardson college counselor, an expert at the navigation of the campus utility tunnels where he gave illicit guided tours and was keeper of the dorm hookah. A coveted position as volunteer brew tender at the Rice graduate student pub Valhalla is yet another feather in his cap, which he enjoyed each Tuesday night for the rest of his life.

On graduation, facing the world with degrees in ecology and statistics, Marcus found his favored path of excellence and precision in dichotomous service to the energy industry, first at BHP Billiton and later at Chevron in Houston. A child of the computer era, his advanced understanding of language and statistics led him to lead positions in solving complex problems of large data set analysis – separating the wheat from chaff. Speaking in the language of computers he devised statistical pathways of novel nature leading to his rise in the company. A favorite brag was his confrontation of a ten-thousand-line program that was reduced to “only” two thousand lines by dint of his application of language and logic. Despite his success, concerns for the environment prompted his long-term sabbatical from the petrochemical industry.

Marcus will be missed by many for multitudinous reasons. A ready conversationalist, he emanated an aura of concern and interest in whatever topic he shared with one. Characterizing conversation as tennis play, keeping the verbal volleys flowing was his delight and gift to fellow humans. Sharing so many interests with us, he skied, scuba dived, bicycled, cooked, embraced Buddhism, hugged and loved with gay abandon. Fun fact: Marcus’ only tattoo on his flank were meaningful lyrics from his favorite heavy metal group Tool, arranged in the spiral pattern of the mathematical Fibonacci sequence that is the basis of many life forms on this planet ranging from pinecone structure to flower petal design. Now that is deep…

The family invites everyone to join them for a Celebration of Life held at Southwest Family Fellowship, 8203 West US Highway 71, Austin, TX 78735, on April 25, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Please join them as they gather to share stories, laughter and memories of a life well-lived. There will be light refreshments served. Kindly RSVP by Saturday, April 18. Either by text to Janet at (512) 698-8239 or by email to Paul at [email protected]. Please come with your stories, pictures and memories as we honor and celebrate his incredible life and vibrant spirit.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Planned Parenthood or ACLU.