William E. "Bill" Marshall

Bill was born in Wilmington Delaware on August 14, 1937 to Jerna and Alma Marshall. They were from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland and Bill was very proud of his family heritage of crabbers, oysterman and shuckers, and continued to visit, fish and love the Chespeake Bay area. He graduated from P.S. Dupont High School in 1955 then worked as a mail runner at Wilmington Trust. He joined the Marine Corp, and married Robin Johnson, in 1956. They had three children, Dana, Brett and Craig. He then married Marilyn Knowles in 1983, and to whom he was married at the time of his death. Upon completion of his Marine Corp service, he returned to Wilmington Trust and worked his way up from mail runner to teller, branch manager, eventually becoming a computer programmer and worked there with the title of AVP until his retirement in 1999, after 44 years of service Bill was a true renaissance man, not only was he extremely smart and a member of MENSA, he played the guitar and was a talented sketch artist and painter. He frequently displayed his work at the Brandywine Arts Festival where his hobos were a particular favorite. He loved words, faithfully doing the crossword puzzle and word jumbles in the newspaper, and was an avid reader with biographies, military history, and Native American history some of his favorite subjects. At the time of his death he was reading the biography of Mark Twain and had decided it was time to learn Navajo for which he was gifted the Marine Corp-Navajo dictionary and a biography of a WWII Navajo Codetalker. He really enjoyed classic country and country western music, with Eddie Arnold and Charlie Pride being particular favorites. He loved playing baseball and softball, watching baseball and coaching little league where his rule was that every child got to play, regardless of their skill level or the score. He was a fan of the Wilmington Blue Rocks with detailed knowledge of their history and his favorite baseball player (and former Blue Rock), Robin Roberts. He stuck with his beloved Philadelphia Phillies through thick and thin. He loved traveling around the country with Marilyn and, eventually, granddaughter Kelly. He enjoyed spending time with other veterans at DelVets. Bill was a devoted family man, always encouraging and supportive and willing to do whatever he could so that his children could be whatever they wanted to be. Although Semper Fidelis is the motto of his beloved Marine Corp, he displayed that same devotion to his employer, his friends and his family. Ooh Rah Bill, you will be missed. Preceded in death by parents Jerna and Alma and son Brett. Bill is survived by his wife of 33 years, Marilyn Knowles Marshall; son, Craig Marshall; daughter, Dana Marshall; 4 step daughters; Cynthia Lyster (Gregg), Pamela Cowen (James); Beverly Carpenter (Curt), and Sheila Pfeifenroth; 8 grandchildren; Olivia, Claudia, Berkeley, Brett, Matthew (Melissa), Katelyn, Rebecca, and Kelly; 1 great grandchild, Collin; and brother, Vincent Marshall (Barbara) and his dog Meeko. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jerna and Alma Marshall; and son Brett Marshall. A visitation will be held Friday, July 10, 2015 from 10:30-11:30 AM. in the Strano & Feeley Family Funeral Home, 635 Churchmans Rd., Newark, DE 19702 followed by a service in celebration of Bill's life at 11:30 AM. Interment will follow in Delaware Veteran Memorial Cemetery. For directions or to send an online condolence visit www.stranofeeley@aol.com" title="Click to open in a new window or tab" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">www.stranofeeley@aol.com

William E. "Bill" Marshall

August 14, 1937 - June 27, 2015

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