Obituary of Richard Howard Marsh

Richard Howard Marsh, resident of Huntingdon Valley, PA, for 35 years and later Rydal Park, died on December 19, 2013, at Abington Memorial Hospital. He was 88 years old. Dick, the son of Howard Sage and Ethel McCrea Marsh, was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, where he grew up with his brother Robert. After his mother's death when he was nine, his father married Anne Jacoby, also of Abington, a widow with three daughters, Carol, Barbara and Frances. Dick's life was characterized by the conviction that the highest virtue was kindness towards others. His optimism and zest for making the most of every opportunity were coupled with a genuine interest in and love for people that exhibited itself in every sphere of his life. WWII was raging in 1943 when Dick graduated from Abington High School, and although he was only seventeen years old and looked even younger, he was determined to enlist and somehow convinced the Army to accept him. He was assigned to Company F, 342 Infantry, 86th Blackhawk Division, where he served honorably in Europe through VE Day. In 1945 his division was transferred to the Pacific theater to prepare for the invasion of Japan, but the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki before the division's deployment ended the war before they could see action. Determined to jump into the opportunities offered in the postwar years, Dick, like so many others, used the GI Bill to further his education. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University. Always the learner, he later continued his education with studies in strategic planning at Princeton and Syracuse Universities. Through the years he would realize a successful business career in the Mid-South and the Northeast. In these early years, he earned a pilot's license and bought a two-seater Piper Cub. He bought an island cabin on Lake Wentworth, Wolfeboro, NH, which through the years would become a beloved family retreat. He loved history and learning and expanded his knowledge through travel at home and abroad. He took time for hobbies and honed his skills to become an avid golfer. In many ways his life illustrated the fulfillment of opportunities of the American dream that he and so many other GIs had fought for. Dick began work for Yale and Towne and in 1956 married Clara Shaw Hamilton, a widow with two daughters, Karen and Joan. The next year he moved the family to Memphis, TN, where two sons, Richard, Jr., and Charles, were born. During his ten-year tenure as regional sales manager for the Fork Lift Truck division he increased the sales volume in his region four-fold. In 1967 Dick returned to the Philadelphia area to positions with Exide Battery, CGS Scientific Corporation and Drexelbrook Engineering Company. As general manager of CGS, he took his division from a position of financial loss to break-even within the first six months, followed by double-digit pretax profits for the remaining seven years. As executive vice president of Drexelbrook Engineering Company, he took the business global and established Drexelbrook International, Inc., of which he became president. After retiring from his corporate career in 1993, he established R. H. Marsh & Associates, a consulting group specializing in acquisitions and divestitures worldwide, and remained active in this business until his death. Dick's business career was characterized by sharp business acumen as well as courtesy and kindness towards all with whom he worked. He took great pleasure in encouraging and mentoring those under him and enabling them to find success in their own careers. Dick's experience and expertise in the business world were valued by others in the business community. He testified before the Federal Trade Commission in Washington and the House Ways and Means Committee on the American business climate and was a featured speaker at various international conferences and regional organizations. He was interviewed on television and radio, and co-authored several articles on American business featured in major newspapers and national publications. He was also a lecturer and advisor on international business at the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. Dick, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, was descended from John Marsh of Braintree, Essex, England, who sailed to America in 1636 as part of the original 100-person group who settled Hartford, CT, alongside founder Rev. Thomas Hooker. He was particularly proud of his family heritage and helped to organize an annual family reunion that continued for many decades at the original settlement of the Marsh family in Winchester Center, CT. His life was characterized by service to others in need. He was an elder at Abington Presbyterian Church and then later was on the vestry at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church. He was an active member of the Masonic Order and supported activities at the Shriners Children's Hospital in Philadelphia by assisting in transportation for children coming from international destinations to the hospital for treatment. He co-founded the Buy America Foundation, a national nonprofit organization which sought to provide education and information about high-quality products manufactured here in the United States. And in the 1990's he became a founding member of the Helping Hand Foundation, a nonprofit organization which provides cash grants and assistance to the elderly and families living in southeastern Montgomery County. Mr. Marsh is survived by his children: Karen H. Clark of Glenside; Joan H. Hodges and her husband, Burgess G. Hodges III, of Center Tuftonboro, NH; Richard H, Marsh Jr. and his wife, Carmelita, of Aurora, IL; and Charles S. Marsh and his wife, Diane R., both of Abington. Also surviving are 21 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren, his brother, Robert Marsh, of West Burlington, IA; and sisters, Carol Atwood of Kennebunkport, ME, Barbara Clark of Granbury, TX, Frances Islin of Tequesta, FL; and by his dear friend Jane Haines of Abington, PA. Memorial contributions in memory of Richard H. Marsh may be sent to: St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, 709 Easton Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090, or the Helping Hand Foundation, PO Box 82, Abington, PA 19001.