James J. Marshall, 83, of Maynard, passed away peacefully, Saturday, December 14, 2019 at Lahey Clinic in Burlington in the company of family.
James was born April 2, 1936, to Joseph Bernard Marshall and Mary Perry Marshall of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he lived until moving to West Concord at the age of four.
James served in the U.S. Marines after high school from 1953-1956 reaching the rank of Sergeant. He is most proud of assisting troops bring supplies into Korea during the Korean War, his efforts in helping rebuild Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the aftermath of the A-bomb and often told the story of his pride in building an orphanage for displaced children of WWII in Japan.
After returning home, he met his wife of 56 years, Doris Piecewicz Marshall of Maynard. They were married in 1963 and had one child together. As a quality control engineer, he worked for Sanborn, ITEK, and Raytheon. Some of his notable contributions to the space program and defense program include his work on the Viking 17 Mars Rover, Apollo 16, and the Patriot Missile before retiring in 1993.
In his leisure time he enjoyed spending weekends at his summer house on Lake Boone with family, traveling frequently to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, and vacationing with his wife and daughter, seeing much of the US and adventuring as far as Europe.
James was preceded in death by his devoted parents and four siblings; Edith Marshall O'Leary, Florence Marshall Carreiro, Richard Marshall, and Geraldine Marshall.
In addition to his wife, Doris, he leaves behind a daughter, Shandren Harrington and her husband Eric of Shirley Massachusetts, and his grandchildren, Stanley, Harvey, Frederic, and Dennis Harrington.
Relatives and friends are welcome to gather for a period of visitation on Thursday, December 19th beginning at 10:30 am in the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street, Concord Center. His funeral service will take place at 11 am. A private burial with military honors will immediately follow.
Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.
