David R Marley

David Ralph Marley died on April 3, 2026 at the age of 98. A widower of six years, he is survived by his youngest sister, three children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Other surviving family members include two daughters-in-law, a sister-in-law, a cousin, and several nieces and nephews and their families.

He was born in the Wyoming Valley area of Pennsylvania, which was rich with anthracite coal. His family included miners, a mine foreman, and a mining engineer. During the Great Depression, his family fared better than many because of their employment in that essential industry. He was attending basic training at Naval Station Great Lakes when the Japanese surrendered to end WWII. He served on a Navy supply freighter in China before returning home, where he became a mine laborer.

In 1947, during a visit to close relatives in Newport, Maine, David had the good fortune to meet Phyllis, his future wife. Before marriage, the opportunity of a position in law enforcement offered improved benefits for family life. After several years as a constable-on-patrol in a very small Pennsylvania town, he was hired by the Portland Police Department. He retired as a lieutenant in the late 1970s and then joined the staff of the Maine Youth Center. From his sixties to his early nineties, he shifted to semi-retirement with seasonal and part-time jobs as a farm laborer, a stone mason’s assistant, and a carpenter.

On his first day as a policeman in Pennsylvania, a fellow officer with a sixth grade education had told him, “Never take away a person’s dignity.” He considered this to be the most important lesson he ever learned about law enforcement. In his younger years he had distrusted FDR’s welfare policies, but his experience with the mining industry made him a Teddy Roosevelt progressive. After Ronald Reagan claimed, “Government is the problem,” he became a Democrat. Recently, he wore a blue baseball cap that said, “Make lying wrong again."

David liked people and worked to be a beneficial presence to everyone he met. He was very involved in volunteering through his church and other community organizations. He was active in support of the local immigrant community. He often delivered food through Meals on Wheels to people who were younger than him. He did home repair work through the State of Maine’s Office of Aging and Disability Services. He was honest to a fault. His family will remember him as an exceptional model of gratitude and cheerfulness. When asked by friends and family, “How are you?” a frequent response was, “Wonderful.” Even after the loss of Phyllis, his beloved wife of sixty-nine years, he also conveyed care and optimism by saying, “Better than most.”