ALAN THOMAS K.C. MARSHALL

October 14, 1928 – July 15, 2025 Predeceased by his loved and loving wife of 71 years, Kathleen Jean (Briggs) Marshall. Survived by sons, Alan Jr. (Vickie), Dan, and John; grandchildren, Christina (Adam), Kathleen (Mike), Alexander, Chelsey (Dan), Alysha, and Mara; great-grandchildren, Anagnostis, Athena, Sofia, Nikolas, Gwen, Gabby, and Georgia; and his sister, Margaret. Predeceased by his parents, Robert Marshall and Margaret (Hicks, Marshall) Briggs; and his brothers, Robert (Bob) and Don. Alan grew up in Hamilton and surrounding area in a close-knit extended family, who operated The Alexandra Dance Hall and Roller Rink and the Wondergrove. He lost his father on the cusp of being a teenager, but never forgot his father's influence. The close relationships with his extended family working together and early experience meeting the public gave him a love of people that never faded. When the distraction of spending after school hours at the roller rink threatened his academic goals, he headed off to Pickering College, where the influence of the staff built his self confidence in pursuing a career in law, which his father had suggested when he was only seven years old. He went on to complete his B.A. at McMaster and law school at Osgoode Hall. Alan and Kathleen had known each other from cottaging at Edge Lake as teenagers and started dating a few years later when they both were riding the bus from Burlington to Hamilton. Over the next five years, he completed his B.A. and the first two years of law school. They married in 1953, a marriage that lasted 71 years, making it a relationship that lasted 76 years until Kathleen's passing in February of this year. They raised three sons and supported them and their families in every imaginable way to their very last. Following law school, Alan practiced in several firms and was appointed Queens Council in 1968. He became very involved in various volunteer roles, including fundraising with Kiwanis for the Joseph Brant Hospital before it was first built, Director and President John Howard Society, Hamilton Branch, Director John Howard Society of Ontario, Director, Canadian Bible Society Hamilton Branch, Founding Director New Hamilton Orchestra, Director Renascent Centers, and other local organizations. His greatest involvement was as a member of the Canadian Bar Association and Ontario Bar Association, where he chaired committees at both the national and provincial levels and served a term as President of The Ontario Bar Association. He was involved in recommendations to protect privileged communications between clergy and professionals and their clients under the Evidence Act. In 1966, he chaired the Ontario Civil Justice committee that made recommendations regarding divorce reform that were adopted by the national organization and ultimately formed the basis of the government's reformed Divorce Law. As a member of the national Civil Justice section, his work led to him presenting the CBA's resolution to establish the Law Reform Commission in all Canadian Jurisdictions to The Hon. John Turner, who shortly after established The Canadian Law Reform Commission. As a member of the Ontario Real Estate section, he made contributions that modified provincial real estate law. In 1980, he was recruited by The Law Society of Upper Canada to set up the Practice Advisory Service to help lawyers better manage their practice, with a view to reducing claims on the insurance fund. In that role, he travelled throughout the province, helping lawyers practice responsibly. While most often this was organizational advice and setting professional standards, occasionally it involved helping an individual deal with personal and addiction issues to enable them to return to practice. On more than one occasion, his work was life-saving. Some specific accomplishments from that time were his central role in the formation of The Ontario Bar Alcohol Programme (now Bar Assistance Programme) and obtaining the support of both the Law Society and the OBA for developing guidelines for lawyers in recovery. Similar programmes have since been adopted across the country. Other accomplishments included setting specific practice guidelines and standards for Law Practice Review and major contributions to the Law Society's Office Management Handbook used in the Bar Admission Practice Management course. In his personal life, he applied the same rigour that he did in practice. Not to be satisfied with superficial understanding, he became an expert on both wine and gardening. He pursued a vast knowledge of history. He took up computer photo editing in his retirement years, digitizing every picture he had taken since his teenage years. Greeting cards invariably featured one of his photos. He compiled an extensive genealogy. He planned epic vacation trips, spending weeks on the road exploring North America and Europe. Importantly, while these trips included stops in Disneyland and Michelin three-star restaurants, they also included important life lessons with stops at Dachau, Vimy Ridge, and the RHLI monument at Dieppe. Dad gave us formative experiences. Why would he do these things? To understand him, you need to know that his faith was central to his being. Having been influenced by his own father as Sunday School teacher and the Quaker culture of Pickering College, he would have described himself as a "seeker," trying to find a purpose and meaning in life in his university years. He found that through the influence of Kathleen and her parents' and attendance with them at church. When he decided that following Christ defined what it meant to be Christian, he was all in. He served as Deacon, Elder, Sunday School teacher, and counsel in his church and other Christian organizations. When we were in high school, Dad was our Sunday School teacher. A memorable and formative series was on the book of James. Stand out verses include: James 1:23-27 (NASB77) 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. 27 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 2:14-20 (NASB77) 14 What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? He was humble and made no pretense of perfection, but it was plain to see what he was striving for. He was outgoing and engaging, whether making friends with a couple at the next table in Vienna, chatting with a stranger in Paris, or most recently, engaging with a wide group of new friends at his senior's residence. Just five days before his passing, he had a visit from Rob, daughter-in-law Vickie's brother, and he recounted adventures in Europe and fine restaurants' as well as discussing their shared experiences as lawyers. His mind was sharp and his memory clear to the end. He loved people and interacting with them. Alan's faith defined who he was. His was a life well lived. His memory is a blessing. A memorial service will be held at Dodsworth & Brown Funeral Home, 2241 New St., Burlington, on Friday, August 8, 2025. Visitation from 10–11 a.m. and the memorial service beginning in the funeral home chapel at 11 a.m., with Rev. Steve Baldry of McNab Street Presbyterian Church, officiating. A reception will follow in the Funeral Home, followed by a private family interment at Greenwood Cemetery. Online condolences can be made at www.dbburlington.ca