Richard Aikin Marshall

Richard Aikin Marshall went to be with his Savior on December 26, 2025, after struggling through illness for several years. At the time of his passing he was surrounded by his loving wife of 53 years, Beth, his faithful caregiver and son, Stuart, and a couple close friends.

The fourth of four children, Rich was born to Robert Harvey Marshall, Sr. and Lois Eleanor Aikin in Altoona, Pennsylvania on November 11, 1944. After his father’s untimely passing when Rich was a baby, his mother moved the children to be closer to family in Youngstown, Ohio, where Rich spent his childhood and graduated from high school in 1962. Rich attended Geneva College, graduating in 1967 with Bachelor’s degrees in History, English, and Bible and Philosophy. He then commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy where he trained as a naval aviator.

After leaving the service, he was drawn to the West and his love of all things farm and ranch led him to cowboy at every opportunity and where he found any excuse to be on the back of a horse, usually in the service of his dear friends the Kennedy’s cow-calf operation. He began driving a tractor-trailer for a variety of stock and grain outfits, including Monfort Brothers of Greeley, to support his cowboy’n habit and the care of his beloved stud, Tex. It was during this time he reconnected with family friends, fellow Reformed Presbyterian “covenanters” Ray and Jennie Hemphill, who just so happened to have an adult daughter. After a courtship, Rich and Beth were married on February 19, 1972 in Greeley, Colorado.

Rich transitioned from over-the-road trucking to bus driving to ensure he was home at night, providing for his family. In 1973 he began with the Denver-Boulder Bus Company, which became RTD, where he served as one of the longest-tenured drivers in the organization’s history, ultimately retiring in 2017. His commitment to duty and family led him to wake up every morning at 4am, almost never taking a day off or calling in sick.

Rich is survived by his wife Beth Loraine (Hemphill), two of his siblings, Robert Harvey Marshall II and Eleanor Louise Marshall, four children: Stuart; Julie (Tanner) and her husband Patrick; John and his wife Linde; Cameron and his wife Amanda, and; eleven grandchildren–Elijah, Molly, and Finn Tanner; Piper, Natalie, Madeline, and Jack Marshall, and; John Shea, Grace, Georgia, and Mary Marshall.

A memorial will be held Tuesday, December 30 at 10:00am at Salt & Light Reformed Presbyterian Church, 9498 Anhawa Avenue, Longmont, Colorado 80503. His remains will be buried with past generations of family at a cemetery in Belle Center, Ohio sometime next Spring/Summer. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Salt & Light RP Church.