Mark Anton Titus

With broken hearts, we announce the peaceful passing of Mark Anton Titus at his home in Houston, Texas, at the age of 64, following a long illness. He was cremated on August 20, 2025. A funeral mass and reception in his honor will be held at 10 a.m. on August 29 at St. Anne Catholic Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Grants Pass, Mark was a man of both nature and science. He was full of life and found joy in rafting the Rogue River, golfing, fishing, hiking, skiing in the Pacific Northwest—and purpose in understanding cancer. During high school, he worked summers as a Rogue River rafting guide, often sharing entertaining stories from those adventures.

Mark earned a B.S. in Developmental and Cell Biology (studying zebrafish) from the University of Oregon, where he was also a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduation, he spent a semester studying Italian at the University of Perugia in Italy and backpacked through Europe. He later moved to Seattle, where he pursued postbaccalaureate studies in physical chemistry at the University of Washington. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Washington, Seattle, and completed postdoctoral research at the Lineberger Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Mark dedicated his career to prostate cancer research, leading laboratories at Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY, and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

Mark met the love of his life, Roopa Thapar, in graduate school at the University of Washington. After a five-year courtship, they married in 1994 and built a life filled with love, discovery, and family. He was a devoted husband and father, a kind soul, a brilliant scientist, and a man with a great sense of humor. He loved to travel the world, was a fantastic cook and epicure, and took immense pride in his daughter Monica (Remanika) Titus, whom he adored and championed in every way.

Throughout his life, Mark faced many health challenges with extraordinary resilience and courage. His final months were painful and difficult, yet he endured them with grace.

Mark is preceded in death by his parents, Rex Lyn Titus and Ann Hof Titus. He is survived by his beloved wife Roopa, daughter Monica, son-in-law Tim, brother Brent, sister Shannon, mother-in-law Nirdosh, sister-in-law Jyotika, brother-in-law Atul, nieces Emmie and Rashmi, and nephews Barrett, Vivek, and Vinayak.

He was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed.