James L. Marshall, 84, Professor Emeritus of chemistry, died March 28. The Denton native earned a bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Ohio State University. 

He first joined the Department of Chemistry at North Texas in 1967, then spent time at Motorola Inc. in Fort Worth before returning to UNT. Conducting materials research and later initiating research in chemical history, he produced more than 250 publications, including a reference book on nuclear magnetic resonance and several books on the history of chemistry and laboratory chemistry. 

He served as director of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center, director of the Center for Materials Characterization and chair of the chemistry department. He also taught countless students to love chemistry and was chosen by students as an Honor Professor, a “Top Prof” and an Outstanding Faculty Member. 

He and his late wife, Jenny, traveled extensively to conduct their Rediscovery of the Elements research, investigating the sites where each chemical element was discovered. The work received international acclaim, including a review in Nature. In August 2024, he accepted the ACS’ Lambert Award for outstanding achievements in the history of chemistry for their work.

Jim had served as chair of the American Chemical Society’s Dallas-Fort Worth section and was managing editor of The Southwest Retort, a regional ACS publication, from 1995 to 2003. He also was an ACS national tour speaker for many years. His service to the ACS and chemical research was recognized by his inclusion in its 2011 class of fellows.

His hobbies included flying and hiking — he was an active flight instructor for decades and hiked the Grand Canyon several times, including all the way twice. He also was an avid naturalist.

A celebration of his life is planned for 11 a.m. May 19 at Bill DeBerry Funeral Directors, 2025 W. University Dr. in Denton.