Obituary of William Richard Marsh

William (Bill) R. Marsh, Sr. (1922-2023) was born on September 24, 1922 in Rochester, New York to Edna Weed-Marsh and Milo Marsh.  Bill was born with congenital cataracts.  Surgeons saved the vision in his right eye.  He grew up during the Great Depression with his brother Milo and Sister Florence, who are both deceased.  His father died when he was six years of age.  His mother got remarried to Jospeh Hutton, and the family moved to Paterson, New Jersey, where Bill graduated from Eastside High-School. 

In 1943 Bill memorized the eye chart so he could enlist in the Amy to serve his country during World War II.  Bill served in the Signal Corp as a Field Lineman throughout the United States and in Austria until his honorable discharge in 1946. 

Bill married Rose Shafer-Kelly after being discharged from the Army.  They had four children and shared a marriage of 61 years, residing in Hawthorne, New Jersey then purchasing their first home in Oakland, New Jersey in 1957.  Rose passed away in 2009 at age 88.  Their youngest son Frankie was born with spina bifida and faced many health challenges, for which Bill and Rose cared for him with much love, dignity and grace.  The assured that he received the best medical care available from the dedicated professionals at New York University Hospital, and an education from the dedicated professionals employed by the Oakland Public Schools.  Frankie passed away in 1976 at age 13.

Bill was employed in the data processing industry for twenty years for Wrights Aeronautical in New Jersey, and for 49 years for Financial Services, Inc. in Glen Rock, New Jersey.  Bill retired in 2009 at age 86. 

In 2012 Bill was honored to serve as the Grand Marshal of the Memorial Day Parade in Oakland, New Jersey, where he served in American Legion Post 369 for many years.   

Bill’s lifelong passion was baseball.  He was a fan of the New York Giants and the New York Yankees.  He saw Hall of Famers play from several generations including Babe, Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Derek Jeter.  He attended all three Perfect Games at Yankee Stadium; pitched by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, by David Wells in 1998 and by David Cone in 1999. He enjoyed the thirty years from 1984-2014 during which he shared a Sunday Ticket Plan for the New York Yankees with his son John, attending many championship series.   He loved the friends he made in Section One, who celebrated his 90th birthday with a surprise party.  He loved taking road trips to see the Yankees throughout the United States and Canada, as well as visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  

Bill is survived by his children and their families; daughter Rosemary Benz and her husband Robert Benz; son William R. Marsh. Jr., and his wife Shirley Marsh;  son John M. Marsh and his wife Rozelisa Marsh.

Bill is also survived by his grandchildren; Justin Benz and his wife Dannielle Benz; Christopher Benz and his wife Dana Benz; William R. Marsh, III and his wife Caroline Marsh; Aimy Marsh-Wintermeyer and her husband Christopher Wintermeyer.

Bill is also survived by his great grand children; Cole Benz, Casey Benz, Tyler Marsh and his son Miles, Kyle Marsh, Christopher Wintermeyer, Malayna Wintermeyer, Liam Marsh and Brianna Marsh.

In lieu of flowers, please honor Bill’s memory with donations to the John Robert Walker Memorial Oakland First Aid Squad, 285 Ramapo Valley Road, Oakland, NJ 07436, oaklandfas.org.