Marilyn Alice Stovall

died in Houston at The Tradition on Woodway on December 8, 2024, at the age of 93. Marilyn was born on January 17, 1931, in Galveston, Texas, where her father was a teacher and principal for over 23 years. She was predeceased by her father and mother, Sam and Alice Stovall, and her brother, S J Stovall, and is survived by her niece, Elizabeth Stovall, her nephew, Marc, and his wife, Paula.

Marilyn started college at the age of 16 and graduated from Baylor University with a dual Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Mathematics. She moved immediately to Houston living in a rooming house while she sought a job related to her interests and education. Coming to Houston with virtually no financial resources at the age of 20, she took a job as a radiation technologist at MD Anderson Hospital, where she worked for 65 years before her retirement at age 84. While working full-time, she completed a Master of Public Health and her doctorate in Epidemiology, which was always a subject of great interest to her. Dr. Stovall was one of the primary developers of the first computerized brachytherapy calculation system, revolutionizing the field of brachytherapy and impacting patients worldwide.

During the 1960’s, Dr. Stovall spent two years on sabbatical at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Dr. Stovall directed the MD Anderson Radiation Dosimetry Services for nearly thirty years from 1986 to 2015, providing calibration services to hospitals throughout the world. She was a professor in the Department of Radiation Physics, Division of Radiation Oncology. During her many years of service there, the department’s work was essential in the specific treatment of tens of thousands of individual Anderson patients. At the time of her retirement, she served as the Director of the Late Effects Group, which tracked and studied the long-term effects of cancer treatments, combining Dr. Stovall’s long career in radiation physics with her graduate education and abiding interest in epidemiology. Over her professional career, Dr. Stovall authored or contributed to nearly 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers, which were cited over 35,000 times. Dr. Stovall was an active lifetime member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, and in 2007 she was awarded one of its highest honors, the Edith H. Quimby Lifetime Achievement Award, for her contributions to the field and the association.

In 2013, Dr. Stovall was awarded the prestigious Failla Memorial Lecture Award from the Radiation Research Society, which honors outstanding contributions in the advancement of the field of radiation research with significant and lasting impacts in understanding the effects of radiation on biological systems.

Marilyn was a lifelong traveler who loved exploring and hiking the world and was especially fond of visiting Switzerland and Ethiopia. Marilyn was a member of South Main Baptist Church since her early years in Houston. She shared her love for South Main with her long-time MD Anderson colleague the late Dr. Peter Almond.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 14, at 11 AM in the Chapel of South Main Baptist Church, 4100 Main Street. The service will be livestreamed at https://boxcast.tv/view/memorial-service--marilyn-stovall-tyf6y1palyuyzqgu3hxk.

Marilyn was very grateful for her final earthly home at The Tradition on Woodway and especially for the attention and dedication of her loving caregivers from At Your Side Home Care, as well as for the hospice staff of The Care Team.