BATON ROUGE – Paul Marks Jr., born June 20, 1942, died
unexpectedly March 8, 2019, in a local hospital at age 76.
Paul was born, raised and lived most of his life in Baton Rouge, a city he loved. He was the eldest of three sons of Dr. Paul L. and Julia Cohn Marks. Paul went to Highland
Elementary School and rode horses as a boy, stabling at what is now Acadian Thruway near the underpass and the interstate. He attended high school at The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tenn. Paul proudly won the school’s speech contest at the end of his
senior year, which propelled him toward a career in law.
He earned a B.A. in History from LSU in 1965.
In undergrad, he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity. One of the perks of his fraternity membership was the opportunity
to be the caretaker for the school’s mascot, Mike III, for two years. Through serving as ZBT’s representative on LSU’s Interfraternity Council, Paul met Anne Plauche of Lake Charles. Later, they met again on the set of the campus production of West
Side Story. She danced on stage; he worked in the wings. Paul and Anne celebrated 52 years of marriage last year.
Paul attended law school at LSU, where he made friends for life who he gathered with regularly until he died. A 1969 graduate
of the law school, Paul won the Flory Trial competition and was Vice-Chairman of the Moot Court Board.
Having a ROTC commission as a first lieutenant, Paul took the bar exam and then began his service in the U.S. Army. His first assignment
was as an instructor at the United States Army School Europe at the NATO Post in Oberammergau, Germany. The next year, he served as a prosecuting attorney in Saigon, Vietnam, where he was a captain and was awarded the Bronze Star.
Paul
returned to Baton Rouge after his military service and joined the law firm of Dale, Owen, Richardson, Taylor and Matthews, at the time a fairly young law firm. His practice was primarily insurance defense. Paul was an adjunct member of the LSU law
school faculty from 1978-83. In 1988-89, he was president of the Baton Rouge Bar Association. After retiring from trial law, he worked as a mediator.
He enjoyed travel, ball games, fine meals, golf and exercise; provided abundantly for his
family and loved to travel with them.
In addition to his wife Anne, Paul is survived by three sons, Sonny (Louise) of Lake Charles, Treanor (Lisa) of Freeport, Fla., and Charles (Francine) of Taipei, Taiwan; two grandchildren; two
step-grandchildren; brothers, Marion (Ginger) of Shreveport and Peter (Mary Katherine) of Albuquerque, N.M.; and beloved cousins, in-laws and friends.
Pallbearers are Princeton Bardwell, Sidney Blitzer, Frank Fertitta, Carey Guglielmo Sr.,
Clay Johnson, Leonard Nachman, George Pierson, John Pugh and Charles Schutte Jr.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at Congregation B’nai Israel, 3354 Kleinert Avenue, with the funeral service to follow. Rabbis
Jordan Goldson and Barry Weinstein will officiate. Rabenhorst Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Memorial donations may be made to The Webb School (thewebbschool.com), 319 Webb Road E., Bell Buckle, TN, 37020; Paul M. Hebert Law Center through the LSU Foundation (law.lsu.edu/alumni/supportlaw), LSU Foundation, 3796 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge, LA, 70802; O’Brien House (obrienhouse.org/contact-us), 446 N.
12th Street, Baton Rouge, LA, 70802.