Brian Iwata as Mentor, Colleague, Father

Abstract

On October 7, 2023, the behavior analysis community lost one of its giants. Dr. Brian Iwata passed peacefully in his home surrounded by family. The world became a lesser place, but what it lost had been prepaid many times over by his immense and lasting influence.

The final few weeks of Brian's life were filled with planning, visiting, organizing, and reminiscing. Brian was as intellectually clear as ever, but his ability to speak was reduced and slower. Over those weeks, many of his family members and former students came to visit. He scheduled and spent time with individual local visitors. On one weekend, about 20 of his former students all came to the house and mingled while taking turns sharing time with Brian. To all, he shared thoughts and emotional memories. He shared manuscripts, graphs, and other items. For example, on one visit he asked Tim to prepare a eulogy and he shared the original type-written manuscript and reviews of Toward a Functional Analysis of Self-Injury. Through tears, Tim agreed to prepare a eulogy, and he clutched the folder of the manuscript tightly.

Following his passing, a large group of students, family, friends, and colleagues gathered at his house on October 26, 2023, to grieve together and to celebrate Brian's life on the day before his funeral. Among those attending were his mentor Jon Bailey, long-time colleague Marc Branch, students from as far back as the 1970s (e.g., Terry Page and Mary Riordan), and many others. The funeral was held on the next day, October 27. Subsequent gatherings took place at a postfuneral reception hosted by Brian's family and a gathering of former graduate students and colleagues at a local establishment that evening. Our love and admiration for Brian was readily revealed in our collective unwillingness to separate at this landmark point in our lives.

Others in this issue of JABA will remark upon Brian's achievements and the profound influence of his work. Our intention is to convey the personal Brian Iwata, a glimpse into what Brian meant to those in his biological and academic families as his student, colleague, and child.