Hours Before Death, Dr. Jeff Marxen Had Best Softball Game of Adult Life

The night he died in a motorcycle crash, Dr. Jeff Marxen had perhaps his best softball outing in decades—going 3-for-4 from the plate at Hourglass Park near Miramar College. 

Dennis Isom, Marxen’s manager on the Light Blues Brothers, recalled the final game Feb. 23 and said in a website tribute:

“I put my arm around his shoulder and shook his hand and said I was looking forward to next week. Jeff was getting on his bike when I drove off.  I can only presume that I was the last person to speak to him. His wife should know that he was thinking of her in that final, short conversation.”

Jerry Hermes is commissioner of the San Diego Warriors Softball League for players 45-69. 

“I played against him in that final game [Feb. 23] and last spoke with him about 9:30 p.m.,” Hermes said Monday. “I am still speechless over this tragedy.”

Hermes says Marxen, a longtime surgeon for Sharp Grossmont Hospital, played in the league “for many, many years.”

“Last season, he begrudgingly dropped out because his band changed their rehearsal nights to Thursdays, which happens to be the night we play,” Hermes said Monday via email.  “Early this January, Jeff called me and happily informed me that he would once again be available to play with us, and our season began on Feb. 2.”

Marxen’s final game was against Hermes’ team, he said.

“I am well-known in the league for my offense,” he said. “Jeff was not. Yet in his final game, he outperformed me with three line-drive hits. After the game, I stuck around to tell him that in all the years I have known him (20+) this was the best I had ever seen him hit.”

Marxen replied that his hands were callused from all the time he had been spending in the batting cage working on his hitting, Hermes recalled.  

“Several of us made ‘guy jokes’  about callused hands, all of which he took in good nature. I commented that callused hands may not be the best thing for a surgeon to have. He informed us that he’d been playing catch with his wife, Annette. We laughed and joked. It was about 9:30 p.m. when I said goodbye and left.”

The league’s website notes that this Thursday, all eight Warriors teams will gather in the outfield between Field 1 and Field 4 between the early and late games to honor the memory of Jeff Marxen, with a few words followed by a moment of silence.

“I am certain there will be a very large percentage of our 105 players in attendance [at Marxen’s service] on Saturday. 

“Dr. Marxen was a one-of-a-kind guy. He was an anomaly—an unathletic guy who loved to play sports (softball, basketball, tennis) and never gave it up, a fine musician whom I saw perform several times, great doctor, and wonderful friend and teammate.  To say he will be missed is putting it very mildly.”

An announcement on the league’s website said:

This is the worst tragedy in the 19-year history of the Warriors league. We all mourn the loss of a great doctor, friend and just a wonderful all-around guy. We extend our most deep condolences to his family and friends.

Isom, Marxen’s manager on the Light Blues Brothers, posted this memorial:

This is my first year as a manager and to lose a player under these circumstances is heartbreaking.

I want everyone to know what kind of person he was. I have only known him since the first game of the season. He was so disappointed in his personal performance in that game that he called me and apologized. That alone should give you a hint. 

He called again and told me he now had blisters on his hands from hitting in a batting cage, and that his wife had played catch with him, and that he was now ready for our next game. And what a game he had last night: He hit three ropes and made all the plays defensively.

After the game, I was gathering all the gear in the bag and dragging it over to my car. I was parked directly next to Jeff’s motorcycle. He was wiping the front windshield and, as he put his stuff away, I stopped, walked over, and told him how well he had played, and that he should tell his wife that I was proud of how much he had improved.

He said, “You can give my wife all the credit. She is a great inspiration to me.”

I put my arm around his shoulder and shook his hand and said I was looking forward to next week. Jeff was getting on his bike when I drove off. I can only presume that I was the last person to speak to him. His wife should know that he was thinking of her in that final, short conversation.

I knew him for such short amount of time, but I shall never forget him.

Patient testimonials continued to arrive via online postings, including this from Donna Beckley of La Mesa to La Mesa Patch:

In 1999, Dr. Marxen introduced me to Starlight vitamins, orthotics in my shoes and saved me from possibly being in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.  Another doctor recommended I have extensive surgery where they would move my pelvic and several other areas to clean an infection that was eating bone.  

Dr. Marxen said no.  By comparing X-rays, he saw the bone was starting to heal itself.

Today, at age 72, with Starlight vitamins and no surgeries, I’m very healthy.  I walk several miles a week, dance three or four nights a week, have no signs of arthritis anywhere and enjoy life.  

I thank Dr. Marxen and Starlight every day in my prayers and always mention them both when I tell people of my 1999 staph infection.