Dr. Alvin Paul Rainosek PhD

Dr. Alvin Paul Rainosek PhD, 77, of Mobile, Alabama passed away peacefully on Monday, Jan. 12 at Providence hospital. Born in El Campo, Texas, to Marie and Alvin Rainosek, he lived most of his life in  Mobile. He is survived by his wife Ethelyn of 53 years, his son Alvin, his son Mark and his wife Mary and their two children Caroline and Mary Ashton. An accomplished musician, athlete, Eagle Scout and student, he played the French horn and trumpet, excelled in many sports, enjoyed coaching and always loved to compete. After graduating from El Campo  High School, he attended Texas A&M University where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1961 and was a member of the Texas A&M Army Corps  of Cadets and the Texas A&M Bowling team. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he served three years as an Officer in the Air Force stationed in Zaragosa, Spain before returning  to Texas A&M University to earn his PhD in Statistics in 1969. In 1970, he and his family relocated to Mobile, Ala. where he became the first Statistics professor hired at the University of South Alabama. During his 44 year career at the university, he was instrumental in building the statistics program which included creating the first undergraduate degree in statistics at  the university, developing the statistics consulting program and teaching thousands of undergraduate and graduate students. A forward thinker, he was constantly creating new ways to teach students through emphasis on communication and use of technology. He brought to the classroom his experience in the application of statistics from his consulting with many industries and government agencies. For these efforts, he was named by the Alumni Association the “Outstanding Professor of the Year” in 1991. Other universities consulted with him to create their statistics programs using the model developed by him at the University of South Alabama. He developed many relationships with faculty, administration and students over the years and was a big supporter of the South Alabama Jaguars ba seball team. He retired from the university in 2014. Dr. Rainosek also became a nationally and internationally recognized statistician serving as a consultant and advisor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS), and the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory (NSIL), located in Pascagoula, Miss. He began that activity in 1980. His duties included representing the NMFS and its National Laboratory on seafood safety issues before numerous National and International Regulatory Agencies, Commissions, and Trade Associations. His national activities included representing the agency to FDA, EPA, DOD, USDA, CDC, NIH, and nearly every state food safety regulatory agency, including the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference. Likewise, his international activities (requiring extensive foreign travel) included being a member of USA delegations, representing NMFS before the WHO/FAO International Codex Alimentarius Food Standards Programme (which establishes the  acceptable food safety standards for all food commodities in global trade), the International Standards Organization and the European Union, during International discussions on such issues. In all of his Federal Government activities, he received wide acclaim, numerous awards, and recognition for his performance, knowledge and skills to explain complex mathematical, statistical, and regulatory concepts in a manner which could be easily understood by his peers and lay personnel. Dr. Rainosek loved his family and spent the time outside of his career coaching his son’s sports teams, exploring new destinations on family vacations and participating in other important events as they came along. Visitation and funeral service began at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 at Triska funeral home located at 612 Merchant Street, El Campo, Texas 77437. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation in his name to St. Dominic’s Church located at 4156 Burma Road, Mobile, Ala. 36693. Letters of condolences ma y be sent to Mrs. Ethelyn Rainosek at 2101 Ryegate Court, Mobile, Ala., 36693. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family online at www.triskafuneralhome. com.