John Leroy Folks, a longtime ASA member, passed away May 30, 2021.
Leroy was born October 12, 1929, to Homer Caesar and May Theo Folks in Hydro, Oklahoma, and raised on a farm. He started his education in a two-room school. From a young age, he demonstrated exceptional academic skills. Prior to enrolling at Oklahoma A&M, he served with the 45th Infantry Division, 158th Field Artillery Battalion, in Japan and Korea as operations chief. After his service, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics with an emphasis on statistics and was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He later earned his PhD in statistics from Iowa State University.
While at Iowa State, Leroy met the love of his life, Sue Folks, on a Sunday evening at The Roger Williams Club at First Baptist Church. One year later, they married in Sue’s hometown of Mansfield, Arkansas. They moved to Richardson, Texas, where he worked at Texas Instruments for several years.
In 1961, Leroy and Sue moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he began his career at Oklahoma State University as an associate professor in the mathematics department. He served as chair of the statistics department for 25 years and was named a Regents Service Professor, retiring in 1998.
Leroy is a life fellow of the ASA, International Statistical Association, and Royal Statistical Society. Read more about his life and career.
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