Robert “Bob” Newcomb of the University of California at Irvine (UCI), the founding president of the ASA’s Orange County Long Beach Chapter (OCLB), passed away on July 10 due to complications of a sudden illness.

Newcomb was faculty at UCI for more than 40 years, was the founding director of the UCI Center for Statistical Consulting, helped form the UCI Department of Statistics in 2002, and was a driving force in the creation of the UCI men’s volleyball program. A dedicated professor, Newcomb continued to teach statistics courses at UCI, completing his last course in the spring of 2014.

Three regional ASA chapters in southern California—San Diego, Southern California, and OCLB—are organizing a memorial service to celebrate Newcomb’s successful life, which influenced the statistical community and lives of many statisticians. The service will be followed by a statistical seminar with presentations by invited statisticians who had developed personal and professional relationships with Holcomb over many years. The service and seminar will take place November 15, 2014.