Dr. Christopher Herbert Marsh

Dr. Christopher Marsh, age 84 of Greenville, South Carolina passed away October 29, 2021, several weeks after an unfortunate fall while taking his daily walk with his wife and best friend, Fran. Chris was born in north London on May 27, 1937, the only child of May and Desmond Marsh. May was a schoolteacher. Desmond was an accountant for British Rail, a job that gave the family free train travel throughout Europe. Their family took full advantage of this perk, traveling extensively across post-war Europe while he was a teenager.

One of Chris’ favorite destinations was the Swiss Alps, which sparked his life-long passion for hiking and spending time in nature. Chris was also fond of traveling through Germany, even though the Nazi Blitzkrieg forced him and his mother to flee north to Manchester for the duration of the war.

The family reunited after the war in the London borough of Enfield, where Chris excelled in school and played lacrosse. He attended the University of London for both his undergraduate and doctoral studies, earning his PhD in organic chemistry in 1962 at the age of 25. He then left England to pursue post-doctoral studies in London, Ontario. He landed his first job as a research chemist in New Jersey, where he met his future wife (a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music) who was teaching piano plus working in the office on the side. They fell in love, married six months later and had three children -- Greg, Elizabeth and Alice. Chris’s job eventually took him to South Carolina, where he and Fran settled after his retirement.

Chris is remembered by his children as their soccer coach, bike ride leader and chief storyteller. He impressed upon his kids and grandkids the importance of hard work and enjoying the simple things in life, like eating pastries and crackers with cheese, walking in the woods and playing card and board games.

Chris was not a religious man. He skipped the family’s weekly trip to church in favor of Sunday mornings home alone, listening to opera.

In his later years, Chris joined a hiking group and, with Fran, took many trips to Europe, where their days were filled with museums, concerts and walks around cities. They spent time volunteering at the local Soup kitchen which meant a lot to them for giving back to the community.

Chris enjoyed a good debate, and no topic was off-limits. Politics and religion, in fact, were among his favorite subjects. Remarkably, this did not diminish his standing as a great Thanksgiving dinner guest and host. He was more tender-hearted than sarcastic, but he was both. He cared deeply about the world.

He is survived by his loving wife, Fran, children Greg (Patty), Elizabeth (Mark), and Alice (Dan), eight grandchildren Alec, Alexa, Zach, Izaiah, Sarah, Molly, John and Kate, and many friends.

He will be missed dearly!

Services will be held for the immediate family; a memorial service will be held in May 2022.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his honor to the American Heart Association.