Updated at 10:40 a.m. Feb. 26, 2012
Dr. Jeffrey Marxen was returning from his weekly softball game at Powerhouse Park when he was fatally injured in a motorcycle crash Thursday night, his wife says.
“He texted me at 9:44 [p.m.], saying he was on his way home from the softball field and said he ‘loved me bunches,’ ” Annette Conway Marxen said Saturday.
When he didn’t get home in the promised 15 minutes, she said, “I thought he might have been called to the ER.”
Annette Marxen said she drove to Black Mountain Road at 1 a.m. but didn’t go far enough to see the accident scene.
At 2:30 a.m., an officer came to the door with the tragic news.
“It is a terrible loss to our family, friends, and co-workers,” she said via email, providing photos and an obituary below.
His daughter, Marissa, a University of San Diego law student, said Saturday:
My father was a very caring and loving father. He was always encouraging of my education, especially in law school. I don’t know what I will do without him. He constantly made sure I knew how proud he was of me and how much he loved me, and I will miss him every day.
One of his sons, Philip Marxen, said Sunday:
My father worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life of thousands of patients who suffered from arthritis and other knee and hip ailments. When I was a young child, he often took me with him to the hospital to make rounds and to his office to meet patients. I felt like my father was a superhero when I read the glowing notes on his bulletin board from patients thanking him for giving them the ability to walk again or work without unbearable joint pain.
He was the kind of doctor who connected with his patients on a personal level, spending extra time to carefully explain their diagnoses and treatment options, even though it meant that he could not see as many patients per day or perform as many surgeries per week as other doctors.
He was proud of his accomplishments as a physician, which were numerous and significant, but he took much greater pride in the less substantial accomplishments of his children. He and my mother always put us first, encouraging us to set ambitious goals and instilling in us faith in God, love for family and friends, and the value of integrity and hard work.
I can’t imagine life without my father, but I know that his life will be celebrated and that he will be remembered fondly by family, friends, co-workers and patients.
A family obituary for Jeffrey Leonard Marxen is posted here, and includes information on a celebration of life memorial at 1 p.m. March 3 at Shadow Mountain Community Church, 2100 Greenfield Drive, in El Cajon.
