A Little Bit About My Cousin Damion

Damion Marx didn't do things small.

He got engaged under a fireworks show on the Fourth of July, was married in Chile on a reality TV show and once spent five straight days in a sleep-optional Texas birding competition.

And so when he was "bitten by the birding bug," as he says on a Florida Atlantic University Web site, the 35-year-old Ph.D. student did that big, too, writing his dissertation on wading birds in Lake Okeechobee and reveling in research that sometimes had him waist-deep in Florida muck.

Or on small airplanes.

During a routine aerial nesting survey, he died Thursday morning when a Cessna Skyhawk crashed in western Martin County. Also killed were fellow FAU graduate student Phillip Heidemann, 43; lab technician Gareth Akerman, 36; and pilot Jeff Rozelle, 36.

"It's tragic, absolutely tragic," said Gary Perry, dean of FAU's College of Science. "They had done these trips so many times before. It was just standard operating procedure for them."

Marx's wife, Luli, is a professor at Palm Beach Community College.

A video the couple made in December during a trip to the Bahamas ends with Luli standing next to a Christmas tree, where she announces she is pregnant. On the screen, "We're so excited" and "Happy 2008!" appear.

Thursday morning's trip was one of the final flights in a three-year study on how the water levels of Lake Okeechobee affect bird nesting habits.

The sky was blue. The sun was shining.

"This is what biologists love to do, get out in the field and experience it first-hand," Perry said.

"We're devastated," Perry said. "We've just lost three of our people."

Marx "was one of the smartest guys I knew in Dale's lab," he said.

Marx earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon. His first job was with the National Audubon Society at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County.

Marx and his wife were married in November 2006 in Santa Cruz, Chile. The wedding was captured on the Style network's Married Away.

For their anniversary, Luli Marx made a gift for her husband — a video with photos of the smiling, sometimes goofy couple, accompanied by the song Better Together.

It ends with a message from Luli to Damion: "I can't wait to spend the rest of my years with you. All my love, forever."

The above text are excerpts from an article in Friday's edition of the Palm Beach Post.

I don't really know what else to say at this point. My cousin was one of the smartest people I have ever met. He was kind, compassionate and full of passion. Although Damion had a little bit of a temper, he always had a smile on his face. Damion loved life and he loved the outdoors.

My whole family is really shaken by this tragic loss. It is just hard to believe that we will never see his face again, feel his love as he hugs us or delight in the sound of his contagious laughter. In some ways it is comforting to know that Luli is carrying his child and come August we will have a tangible part of Damion to hold again, but that poor child will never be held by their own father. Damion's younger sister, Danielle, is also pregnant with her first child. I only hope that these two births will help my family find joy in this time of extreme loss.

Thanks for you prayers,
Deidre