Reverend Canon Joan Cansler Marshall

The Reverend Canon
Joan Cansler Marshall
Rev. Marshall, 75, died April 3, 2004 at a health care facility in Asheville. Formerly of Charlotte, she was the daughter of the late John Scott Cansler and Carolyn Pennington Cansler. She attended Sweet Briar College. In 1986 she was ordained the first woman deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.
Mrs. Marshall is survived by her husband, Dan Marshall of Montreat, NC; son, David Marshall and his wife Sarah of Asheville; daughters, Susan Bezubek and her husband Felix of Cary, Carolyn Broderson and her husband Edward of Tallahassee, FL, and Kate Marshall of Montreat; and nephews, Patrick Covington of Asheville, and James Covington of Fort Collins, CO.
Mrs. Marshall was preceded in death by her son Scott Marshall, and her sister and brother-in-law Patricia and Robert Covington.
In addition to her work at the Cathedral of All Souls, Joan was a member of the organizing committee of the Asheville Mediation Center, served on the board of ABCCM, was a member of the board of American Civil Liberties Union, and chaired the Criminal Justice Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches. Joan helped plan and organize the first CROP Walk in Asheville in 1979, organized and was first chairperson of the Asheville Chapter of Amnesty International, Group 188, organized and co-chaired the Asheville Nuclear Arms Freeze Committee, helped organize the first local chapter of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, organized and chaired the first Criminal Justice Task Force in the Western North Carolina Episcopal Diocese, chaired the Criminal Justice Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches, and served on the Governor's Advisory Committee for Religious Ministry in Prison. Joan was instrumental in founding the Western North Carolina AIDS Project. She organized and implemented the first HIV/AIDS care teams in western North Carolina. With her husband, Joan co-founded the Western North Carolina Chapter of P-FLAG. She provided crisis and pastoral care for gays and lesbians and their families and friends, and was a liaison between the Cathedral of All Souls and CLOSER for more than 20 years. Joan helped found and organize Loving Food Resources and Hope House.
In 1981 Joan received the Russell Cook Memorial Award sponsored by the WNC Chapter of the United Nations Association. In 1990 she was elected Buncombe County Woman of the Year. She received the Dr. Marketta Laurila Free Speech Award in 1999.
There will be a memorial service at 2 p.m. Sunday April 18, 2004 at the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville or to Mountain Area Hospice.