For over 15 years, Bryan Marquard has served as The Boston Globe’s obituary editor, transforming the genre into a mirror reflecting New England’s social conscience. His profiles prioritize unsung individuals whose lives shaped the region’s civil rights, media, and academic landscapes.
For over two decades, Bryan Marquard has crafted obituaries at The Boston Globe that transcend mere death notices, instead painting vivid portraits of individuals whose lives collectively define New England’s social fabric. His work balances rigorous reporting with narrative elegance, earning recognition as a master of the form.
Marquard’s career reflects a sustained commitment to documenting societal change through personal stories:
This 2020 obituary of Pulitzer-winning reporter Ron Hutson exemplifies Marquard’s ability to interweave personal biography with broader historical context. The piece details Hutson’s groundbreaking 1970s coverage of Boston’s school desegregation crisis, using specific stories like his profile of the first Black family in Dorchester’s Codman Hill neighborhood. Marquard employs oral history techniques, drawing from interviews with colleagues and archived articles to reconstruct Hutson’s methodology. The obituary gained attention for its nuanced exploration of how Hutson’s work laid groundwork for contemporary discussions on systemic racism.
Marquard’s 2025 profile of activist Philip W. Johnston traces a 65-year journey from teenage Woolworth’s sit-in participant to influential policymaker. The article stands out for its use of temporal juxtaposition, contrasting Johnston’s 1960 protests with his later healthcare reforms as Massachusetts Secretary of Human Services. Marquard incorporates archival protest footage descriptions and legislative records to show continuity in Johnston’s advocacy. This piece is frequently cited by historians studying the long-term impacts of civil rights movement participation.
In this 2025 article, Marquard shifts focus to academic leadership, profiling MIT Sloan’s longest-serving dean. The analysis highlights Schmittlein’s curricular innovations through interviews with 14 faculty members and a review of program enrollment data. Marquard contextualizes business education trends, contrasting Schmittlein’s global expansion strategies with peer institutions. The piece has become a benchmark for university leadership obituaries, praised by the Chronicle of Higher Education for its balance of institutional impact and personal anecdotes.
Marquard prioritizes stories demonstrating how individuals’ lives intersect with Boston’s evolving identity. Successful pitches might involve:
“A Roxbury teacher whose 40-year mentorship program influenced three generations of city council members”
This aligns with his profile of Johnston, which connected personal activism to statewide policy changes. Avoid pitches lacking clear ties to New England’s social history.
His articles frequently incorporate historical documents, from protest flyers to legislative drafts. Provide access to:
The Hutson piece utilized similar materials to reconstruct 1970s reporting contexts.
Marquard’s work emphasizes ongoing impact rather than retrospective praise. For a healthcare innovator pitch, stress:
“How their patient outreach model is being adopted by Boston Community Health Centers posthumously”
This mirrors his Schmittlein coverage, which detailed how academic reforms outlived their architect.
Granted by the Society of Professional Obituary Writers for redefining the genre’s scope. Marquard was recognized alongside New York Times’ Margalit Fox for shifting focus from elite figures to community architects. The jury noted his “ability to transform local histories into national conversations.”
As part of The Boston Globe team that received the Pulitzer for Breaking News Reporting during the Boston Marathon bombing coverage. Marquard’s role in profiling victims helped establish the paper’s empathetic tone during crisis reporting, later studied in Columbia Journalism Review’s trauma-informed journalism guidelines.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on History, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
