Andrew Jackson Marsh Sr.

It is with immeasurable sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Andrew J. Marsh, Sr. After a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s, he joined his parents and his dear younger brother, Cody, on June 21, 2011. He is survived by his devoted companion, Mary Lou Rusnik, and her family, by his children Robyne I. Callaway (Roy), Anne S. Martinez (Neftali), Ellen D. Marsh-Child (Daren), L. Cody Marsh (Elizabeth), and Andrew J. Marsh, Jr., and by his sisters Anne B. Jones (Jerry) and Virginia S. Laumeister.

Born on November 25, 1924 in Washington, D. C. to Lindus Cody Marsh and Anne Barraud Cocke, he was the eldest of four children. In 1933 his family moved west to settle in the Tucson, Arizona area. Both his parents were extremely inspirational in his life. His father, who was a practicing psychiatrist at the time of the family’s relocation to Tucson, was a pioneer in the field of group therapy and in in-home treatment for the mentally ill. As a result, the Marsh home housed several of Dr. Marsh’s patients. Andrew’s mother, Anne, assisted with these patients and had the fortitude to brave the austerity of “the wild west”. Under these unique circumstances, Andrew spent a happy and adventurous childhood in Tucson and in Oracle, and throughout his life he held fond memories of this period of time. After graduating from Tucson High School in 1942, he joined the Navy and served until 1945, when he was honorably discharged.

Thereafter, he worked at the Southern Pacific Railroad while he studied at the University of Southern California. He received a degree from the School of Business in 1953 and graduated from the School of Law in 1956. During this period of time he met and married Marion F. Pierce, and became a devoted father to her daughter, Robyne. Andrew and Marion had three children together, Anne, Ellen and Cody. While he worked for a brief time as a Deputy District Attorney in the Ventura County District Attorney’s office, he soon left to open a private law practice in Oxnard where he practiced family and criminal law. Following a divorce from his first wife, he met and married Marcellan Elizabeth Grand, and together they had one child, Andrew, Jr. They were divorced in 1980. Andrew retired from his law practice in his sixties, after which he worked with H & R Block for several tax seasons.

Andrew’s life personified kindness to his fellow man and was an example to all those who knew him. His warm-heartedness was genuine and tangible, and he was able to embrace people from all walks of life. He held a deep reverence for life, and he lived to ease the burdens of others, even if at his own expense. While he will be deeply missed, his spirit remains with us in the lessons that he left behind.

The family would like to express their deepest gratitude to his beloved Mary Lou and to our younger brother, Andy. They both brought great joy to his life in his later years, and their kind and loving treatment of our father over the course of his illness will never be forgotten. We also wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the staff at the Finest Living Guest Home on Arcade, who cared for him with such tenderness during his last several weeks on earth.

Memorial services will be planned at a later date to be held in Oracle.

Arrangements by Ted Mayr

Funeral Home and Crematory, Ventura.