Preston Howard "Nya" Marsh

Preston Howard Marsh, 55, of Mobile, Alabama and formerly of Medway, Massachusetts, passed away Saturday, 18 March 2023. The great grandson of civil rights leader Joshua A. Barney, Preston spent his earliest years in Sudbury, Massachusetts and was the son of the late Alphonso H. Marsh, Jr. and the late June E. Marsh. Preston, affectionately known as "Nya," was a true Renaissance man who excelled in a diversity of passions, including music composition, production and performance, computer information technology, multimedia design and electronics. His reach and impact across communities and musical genres was beyond compare. Preston also had a knack for applying engineering skills to set up solutions to everything from surveillance systems to fixing a leaky roof.

Preston's creativity and talents were clear from an early age in Sudbury. He excelled in music and the arts, and was a fixture in Medway High School's jazz and marching bands, as well as the school's orchestra and annual musicals.

Preston attended Howard University in the nation's capital, where he expanded his knowledge in electrical engineering and world affairs with a focus on the Black Experience. In 1986, he pledged and crossed into Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Inc. - the world's oldest and largest secret national fraternal society in music. His musical skills deepened in the Washington, D.C. scene, performing with artists like Teena Marie and in the group Word, as well as learning to play close to a dozen instruments in the genres of funk, rhythm and blues, rock and D.C.'s unique 'go-go' style.

In Washington, Preston also served as a contract management information systems developer and analyst for NASA's Minority University Research and Education Division. His launch into entrepreneurship began as CEO of his technology services start-up, Nile Valley Solutions, that morphed into BlackSalmon Productions - a digital music and multimedia design studio that marked its 20th anniversary this year.

In Mobile, he expanded his music career as well as his passion for community, which included tutoring school children and providing total quality management consultancy services to the YWCA USA. Preston taught music to Toulminville elementary school youth as part of the Legacy 166 program. Through his digital music studio, Preston produced and arranged songs for local and regional recording artists. For almost twenty years, he served as a musician for the Warmwood Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Alfred Goodwin and First Lady Janice Goodwin, and served as its music director for the last decade. Preston toured the Blues and Southern Soul circuits in America's southeast, and performed with bands and luminaries such as artist Jeff Floyd and artist Lebrado, as well as music groups House Quake, the Cedric Brooks Project, Sylvester Parsons' Powerhouse band, and Vernon Porter's group Emerge. Preston performed in concert festivals like Bayfest, Spring Fling and the City of Mobile New Year's Eve celebrations.

Preston's love for music was eclipsed only by his love for Carol, his partner of more than 14 years. An Alabama native, City of Mobile employee, and fellow member of the Warmwood Church choir, Carol took Preston's hand in marriage in July 2021.

Preston "Nya" Marsh is preceded in death by his parents Alphonso H. Marsh and June E. Marsh, and uncle Julius Marsh. He is survived by his wife, Carol Brown-Marsh of Mobile, Alabama, and brother Alphonso Van Marsh and Eugenia Harvey, brother-in-law Charles (Mary) Brown, goddaughter Savannah Sharp, nieces Isabella Brown and Carla Taylor, and his chosen family member Iya Olatunji. He also leaves behind several uncles, aunts, cousins, and many bandmates and friends.

A memorial service will be held at the Warmwood Missionary Baptist Church, 10251 McGehee Road, Grand Bay, Alabama, on Friday, 31 March 2023 at 11 a.m. (visitation, from 10 - 11 a.m.). The service will be streamed via Eternal Rest Funeral Home Services' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Eternal-Rest-Funeral-Home-Services/100032388746716/.

Attendees are invited to wear an element of purple, Preston's favorite color.

A wake will also take place at the Warmwood Missionary Baptist Church on Thursday, 30 March from 3-7 p.m.

A service in Medway, Massachusetts is being planned for late April.

Condolences and expressions of sympathy can be sent to:

Carol Brown-Marsh

P.O. Box 993

Mobile, AL 36601

Expressions of condolence can also be delivered in the name of our dearly departed, to:

Preston H. Marsh

c/o Eternal Rest Funeral Home Services

8915 Henley Road

Irvington, AL 36541

Tel: (251) 957-8827