Joseph David Marsh Jr.

Joseph David Marsh, Jr. passed away peacefully on July 4, 2014 surrounded by his family. He was 90 years old. Joe or J.D., as he was known by many, was born on December 3, 1923, in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Juliet Mollman Marsh and Joseph David Marsh. Joe's mother passed away when he was seven years old. After his mother's death, his father married Lucille Detchemendy who lovingly became mother to Joe and his younger brother Larry. A sister, Marilyn and another brother, George completed the family.

Joe attended St. Louis University and shortly after his enrollment, enlisted in the U. S. Army. He was assigned to the 701st Military Police Battalion and wryly joked on more than one occasion how easy it was to quell a disturbance with a tank and a rifle. After he completed his service in the Army, he returned to East St. Louis and married his sweetheart, Virginia Lee Beuckman on February 7, 1948. They were happily married for 66 years.

While in East St. Louis, Joe worked with his father at Swift & Company as a cattle buyer. In 1954, Joe, Ginny and their children, Julie and David, moved to Houston, Texas, where Joe continued to work for Swift. In Houston, daughter Maggie was added to the family and many weekends were spent on Galveston Beach gathering sea shells and getting sunburned, soaking up the summer heat that Joe so loved. In 1956, Joe was transferred to Jackson, MS, a place he would proudly call home as the years passed. In Jackson, the family expanded with the birth of Fran and Christy.

Life-long friendships were forged with dear South Jackson neighbors and their children, now grown. Joe worked with Swift and other meat packing companies for over 40 years. Even after his retirement from cattle buying, his cowboy boots remained part of his daily attire. He also worked with his son, David, at Benchmark Construction.

Joe was the consummate "people person" and his genuine interest in those he met quickly turned acquaintances into friends. Joe and Ginny were founding members of St. Therese Catholic Church and in retirement were members of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. He was a devout Catholic and made sure all his children received a Catholic education, although sometimes financially difficult. Joe was a Life Long Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. One of his proudest accomplishments was recruiting 100 men into the Knights, his son-in-law Charlie being one.

Some of Joe's happiest times were the annual summer trips driving to Illinois to visit family and friends. The long, hot trips usually began in the pre-dawn hours by loading his five sleeping kids into the back of the family station wagon. His hometown friends would reunite at English's Pub, the last grand reunion taking place in 2012. He was a loyal fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and attended his last home game at age 88, where he was thrilled to witness a Cards grand slam. He especially enjoyed dancing with Ginny well into his eighties and took every opportunity to listen to the Capital City Stage Band. He could recognize the name of any tune by Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and other Big Bands of the 40's. During his retirement years, living with daughter Maggie and son-in-law Jim, Joe and Ginny enjoyed feeding birds, counting the deer that congregated almost at their doorstep and attending countless family get-togethers at Scrooge's. Joe was truly a member of the Great Generation. Like most men of his era, he was religious, patriotic, family oriented and frugal. He kept a meticulous accounting of all his family expenses. Until recently he recorded every check he wrote and had it neatly documented in several books. His first check was written to a florist in East St. Louis and the notation read "flowers for Ginny." He was self-sacrificing and always prioritized the needs of his family. He often said he was the wealthiest man he knew because of the closeness of his family.

Joe will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor, his constant outgoing personality and his devotion to his wife. Joe had an ever-tender heart and always showed the affection he had for his family. He will be greatly missed but his memory will bring a smile to every face as they remember his happy spirit. In his own words "Ginny and I have had a great life."

He was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his beloved wife Ginny; son David (Patsy); daughters Julie Moore (Alan), Maggie Nippes (Jim), Fran Adams (Carl), Christy Sims (Charlie); sister Marilyn Huber (Don) of Belleville, IL; brothers Larry Marsh of Marana, AZ, and George Marsh (Jennifer) of Rohnert Park, CA, 15 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held at 11am on Tuesday, July 8th at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Visitation will be held at the church on Monday, July 7th from 5pm to 7pm and on Tuesday, July 8th at 10am. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Knights of Columbus Council 9543 at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 4000 W. Tidewater Lane, Madison, MS 39110.