02/28/2021
Richard Gene Marshall May 12, 1938 — February 28, 2021
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, March 5, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. at the Columbia United Methodist Church in Columbia. Family will be present to greet family and friends Thursday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 p.m. at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Melcher-Dallas.
Burial will be at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel. Instead of flowers, memorials may be made to Columbia United Methodist Church, Columbia Fire and Rescue, or Melcher-Dallas Fire and Rescue. You may join the family via live stream at Richard Gene Marshall was born May 12, 1938, to Asa R. and Ellen Robinson Marshall in Knoxville. He was the second oldest out of thirteen children. He grew up in Knoxville until moving to the farm. He attended Knoxville High School until joining the Navy at age 17. He trained at Great Lakes Naval Station. His first station was in Long Beach, California on the USS Bremerton. His second ship was the Daniel E. Joy on the Great Lakes. He fought in the Korean War and was all over the South Pacific.
He met Nancy Chesick while she was working at the Park Lane Cafe in Knoxville, Iowa. They later married on December 16, 1960, two months from the day they met, and to this union, they were blessed with three children: Mike, Debora, and Darlene. Richard and Nancy spent 60 wonderful years together. During those 60 years, the two of them worked at 3M. They decided to retire on the same day together, which happened to fall on April Fool’s Day. When they walked out of work together that day, nobody believed they were retiring.
Richard’s first occupation that he loved was operating heavy equipment. He helped build the Red Rock Dam, ran a scrapper, also was a test operator for Caterpillar for ten years. Richard loved to talk and tell stories. He never met a stranger and would give the shirt off his back for anyone.
Richard and Nancy loved to travel, especially to Minnesota to camp and fish. He enjoyed spending time with all of his grandkids. The family spent many days at Red Haw on the beach. They even converted an old school bus into a camper to use for their travels.
Richard enjoyed watching high school football. Sprint car races were also a favorite for Richard. He was a push driver for 20 years when Doug Wolfgang and Steve Kinzer were driving. Richard was very pure at heart and spoke his mind. He was a mentor to many young people due to his love for children. He loved to dance, especially to 50’s country, such as Hank Williams Sr. and Conway Twitty.
Richard will be greatly missed by his children: Mike (Lori) Marshall, Debora (Michael) Vaughan, Darlene (David) Hollingsworth; grandchildren: Tim, Kelley, Jessica, Kaleb, Tyler, Sara, Kelli, Lynn, Amber, Matthew, Patrick, Michael, Anthony, Ashley, Rachel, and David; 30 great-grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild; siblings: Dixie Donaldson, Charles (LaVonne) Marshall, Harold (Judy) Marshall, Sonja South, Ron Marshall, Connie (Danny) Hunt, Keith (Denise) Marshall, Kenny (Henrietta) Marshall, and Tom Marshall; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his wife of 60 years Nancy; parents; infant brothers: Billy Bob and Asa; and brother, Russ Marshall.
Cemetery Details Iowa Veterans Cemetery at Van Meter 34024 Veterans Memorial Drive Adel, IA 50003
Visitation MAR 4. 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (CST)
Pierschbacher Funeral Homes – Melcher-Dallas 803 Garfield Street Melcher-Dallas, IA 50163
https://www.pierschbacherfuneralhome.com
Funeral Service
MAR 5. 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (CST) Columbia United Methodist Church 505 Church Street Columbia, IA 50057