Brian Lyon Joiner

Brian Lyon Joiner

MADISON - Brian Lyon Joiner ("Spike"), age 85, passed away peacefully at home of natural causes on August 26, 2023.

Born in Ilion, NY, to the loving family of Annie Lee (Lyon) Joiner and Raymond Joiner, Brian spent his early years in Lovingston, VA, where he loved the old green farmhouse and summers spent with his cousins, aunts and uncles, and parents. It was in the Blue Ridge Mountains that Brian developed a passion for camping, hiking, and birdwatching.

Brian met his first wife, Laurie (Warnick) Joiner at Rutgers University where he was studying for his PhD in Statistics, and she was pursuing a history degree at Douglass College. They married in 1964, moved to Washington D.C., and began a family with twin sons (David and Kevin), and a daughter (Kristen). Brian started his professional career with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (known then as the National Bureau of Standards) then in 1971, Brian was appointed Assistant Professor of Statistics at Penn State where he co-founded Minitab, a groundbreaking statistical analysis software program.

In 1974, he joined the Statistics Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison as Professor and Director of the Statistical Laboratory. In 1983, Brian and Laurie co-founded Joiner Associates, a quality management consultancy. From publishing the award-winning The Team Handbook (with Peter Scholtes and Barbara Streibel) and 4th Generation Management, to serving as one of the original judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Brian contributed significantly to the growth of the quality movement locally and nationally.

Among other professional recognitions, Brian was a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Founding Editor of Current Index to Statistics, and recipient of the University of Wisconsin Distinguished Service Citation, W. Edwards Deming Medal and the American Society for Quality Shewhart Medal.

Brian was also a dedicated environmentalist, co-founding Madison-based environmental organization, Sustain Dane, in 1998. He remained a board member until 2011. Through Sustain Dane, he supported the development of programs and models for climate change, including an award-winning public-private partnership and the Badger Rock Middle School. With Laurie, Brian also contributed to the award-winning green renovation of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Unitarian church, First Unitarian Society - which will stand for many years and be a remembrance of his dedication to responsible stewardship toward our planet.

After Laurie passed away in 2010, Brian met Lynnie Clemens through the friendship of Brian and Lynnie's daughters and their children. Brian married Lynnie in 2013. They shared an extensive blended family, including Brian's three children and their families - David Joiner and Gale Shu (and Abby and Camille Joiner), Kevin Joiner and Tomoko Ishikawa (and Rin and Ryo Joiner), and Kristen Joiner and Jon Sandbrook (and Julian Ng, Oliver Ng, and Olivia Sandbrook), and Lynnie's two daughters and their families - Nancy Crull (and Will and Johnny Gutknecht), and Alyssa and Brian Maurer (and Haysie and Layne Maurer).

Brian was in his element on walks and canoe paddles in the beautiful nature areas of Wisconsin. He was also a voracious reader and a huge Badger fan, he loved to play basketball, pickleball, and card games. He was honest, easy-going, kind, generous, loyal and supportive of truth and social justice. And of course, he loved his friends and family. He had an insatiable curiosity and an irresistible friendliness that he shared with neighbors, colleagues, friends, family, and strangers alike. He was a loving and devoted father, step-father, grandfather, and husband, and we already dearly miss his mischievous smile and funny jokes.

Brian is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.

He will have a private green burial at Farley Center's Natural Path Sanctuary There will be a memorial gathering celebrating his life on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. at First Unitarian Society of Madison (900 University Bay Drive).

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sustain Dane, Southern Poverty Law Center, Nature Conservancy, Mentoring Positives, or to any other organization of your choice.