John Christopher Marscher Jr.

CLEARWATER-John “Jack” Christopher Marcher, Jr.—Navy Officer, Free Mason, Engineer and Photographer passed away surrounded by his loving family on Saturday February 22, 2020. He was 89 years old. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 9, 1930 to parents John Christopher and Marion Newton Marscher.

To his family and close friends, he was always Jack. To his grandkids, he was simply “Papa”. While growing up, he attended the Haverford School and graduated in 1948. He attended Georgia Tech, where he was a member of the Theta Chi Fraternity. He received his B.A. in Engineering in 1953. He joined the United States Navy where he dutifully and bravely served his country for four years during the Korean War with rank of Lieutenant (jg) in the beach jumper unit 2.

During his time in college, he met Carolyn Jane Dorris from Atlanta, Georgia on a blind date. They were married on July 17, 1954.

After living in Virginia and Texas, they settled in Clearwater in 1957, where they built their house and set roots. He worked at Sperry Corporation, Tepro of Florida Inc., MSW Engineering and Color Images for over a number of years. He joined the Freemason Lodge Clearwater 127. When his children were in high school, he was very active with the Clearwater marching band; at one point becoming the bands booster president. He developed a passion for photography and radio. Jack spent his free time working on a ham radio that he built as well as learning expert techniques of photography. He showed his skills of shooting and developing photos which displayed the happiness of his family and friends. He retired in 1990. They enjoyed traveling and cruising, especially to Alaska. Their love for their family lineages and history formed a hobby of genealogy, where they traced their families back to the American Revolution. From their research, modern technology became an integral part of their lives and joined the Tampa Bay Computer Club.

Jack is survived by his wife of 65 years, Carolyn Jane of Clearwater; son Chris of Clearwater; daughter Diane Richardson (Bob) of Seminole, Grandchildren Brad Richardson of Seminole and Daniel Marscher (Rachel) of Clearwater. He is predeceased by his grandson Nathan Richardson of Seminole.

Services will be held on Friday February 28, with the viewing at 1pm and ceremony at 2pm at Sylvan Abbey Funeral home in Clearwater.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Jack to the Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation, 1200 Druid Road South, Clearwater, FL 33756. Website: mortonplantmeasefoundation.org