Jacqueline L. Marshall

Jacqueline L. "Jackie" Marshall (nee Duke) passed away peacefully on December 23, 2015 at home in Bath, Ohio, surrounded by family and friends.

She was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on January 28, 1926. After graduating from North High School in 1944, she earned a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing therapy at Kent State University in 1948. While at Kent State she was listed in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities and was a member of Alpha Phi sorority. After graduation from Kent, she accepted a job at The General Tire & Rubber Co. She was the first female buyer in the company's purchasing department. She met her future husband, Jack Marshall, at General Tire. They were married in 1954 and moved to Bath Twp. in 1958.

Jackie served throughout her life in numerous governmental, civic and cultural activities. She was a great example of what giving back to the community is about. She had been a member of Bath's Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Commission and for several years was a member of the NEFCO (Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization) Environmental Committee. One stated goal in all of her activities was to do what she could to protect the Akron area's natural beauty, with special emphasis on Bath Township where she and her husband have lived since 1958.

Furthering her belief in using your abilities and time to the best advantage, Jackie served as President of Bath Volunteers for Service, Bath Alpha Garden Club and Bath Women's Club. She also was chairman of the annual Bath Horse Show, which she ardently supported all of her life. She was especially proud to have had a role in preserving the historic Bath Town Hall and to have been part of the group responsible for getting the Bath-Fairlawn Library branch built. Outside of Bath, Jackie was president and founder of the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center Women's Board and founding member and past president of the Civic Theater's Women's Board. "I, myself, scrubbed some of the dressing room walls," she said later - and was a member of the Community Hall Foundation's Board of Trustees.

The main goal of her activities was to protect the natural beauty of Bath Twp. She served as a member of the Bath Twp. trustees' advisory council and the board of zoning appeals. She was elected as a Bath Twp. trustee and served for two terms. She was recognized as the "Citizen of the Year" by the Bath Twp. Grange in 1986.

Preceded in death by her parents, William T. and Grace Duke; she is survived by her husband, Jack Marshall; her brother, Tom (Juanita) Duke; her niece, Terrill (Gregg) Mervis; great niece, Grace; and her cousin, Jill (Wendell) Horn and family.

Helpful, generous, cheerful, good-natured, responsible, lover of nature and beauty, hard-working, well-read, Jackie was all of them and more. She was just plain fun to be with. Her presence was a joy. Her absence will sadden those she loved and the many with whom she worked.

The family thanks Crossroads of Northeast Ohio and Summa at Home for the care they supplied to Jackie in recent weeks.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Billow Fairlawn Chapel, 85 N. Miller Road. She will be entombed at Rose Hill Burial Park. In lieu of flowers, those who wish can make memorial contributions to PAWSibilities, Humane Society of Greater Akron, 7996 Darrow Road, Twinsburg, Ohio 44087. To share a Memory, Send a Condolence or Light a Candle, visit the Tribute Wall at www.billowfuneralhomes.com (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)