Marvin Thomas Doig

Marvin Thomas Doig passed away on February 9, 2026, at the age of 87. He is survived by his loving wife of 24 years, Julianna S. Doig; three sons, Shaun, Jon, and Michael; one granddaughter, Natalie; and his only sister, Patricia Apland. His brother Varick J. Doig Jr. preceded him in death in 2008. Marvin was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, to Varick J. Doig (Red) and Blanche C. Doig (White). The first five years of his life were spent on a ranch near Wall Mountain in the Big Belt Mountain Range, but the family moved to Townsend when it was time for Marvin to start school. He graduated from Broadwater County High School in 1956 and shortly after went on active duty with the US Army Reserve.

After completing his active duty requirement, Marvin worked for two years in construction and then entered Montana State University, where he majored in Electrical Engineering and graduated with a BSEE degree in 1962. His first employment was with the Naval Ordinance Laboratory in White Oak, Maryland. With a desire to travel, after three years at the Ordinance Lab, Marvin joined the US State Department Foreign Service. His first overseas assignment was to Beirut, Lebanon, where he traveled regionally in most of the Middle East Countries conducting technical security countermeasures against foreign intelligence adversaries. After being evacuated from Lebanon during the first Seven-Day Arab-Israeli war, Marvin's next assignment was to South Africa. He spent three years traveling to all of the countries in the Southern half of Africa, providing technical services to US Embassies and Consulates. After moving up in personal rank, Panama was his next assignment, where he traveled and managed an office that provided regional technical services to Foreign Service posts located in the Caribbean Sea and the Northern part of South America. After six years of overseas assignments, it was time for Marvin to have an assignment to the Headquarters Office at the State Department in Washington, DC. After completing a Washington assignment, Marvin was assigned to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to establish a new regional Technical Security Office. This assignment was cut short when he was called on to relocate to East Germany, where a new US Embassy Building was being renovated, and Marvin was to be the Regional Security Officer overseeing security for the project. This was a particularly interesting assignment as the Berlin Wall was still in place and the "Cold War" was raging between the US and the Soviet Union. Upon completing this assignment, Marvin transferred to Frankfurt, Germany, where he was the Officer-in-Charge of the largest State Department overseas regional technical security center. It was during this assignment that Marvin upgraded his professional security credentials by adding Generalist Security to his skill code. This significantly increased Marvin's opportunities for advancement, and at the end of this assignment, Marvin was selected to be the Associate Director of Security (ADS) for posts located in the Southern half of Europe. The next assignment was to Hong Kong as ADS for all posts in the Eastern Pacific region, but a year later, as a cost-saving move, the office was moved to Manila, Philippines. Again, it was time for a Washington assignment, so Marvin moved to Washington as Office Director for the State Department's worldwide technical security programs. His next tour took him back to Manila as the ADS for East Asia again and then back to Washington as Director for the State Department's worldwide physical security programs. It was around this time that worldwide terrorist attacks against Foreign Service posts became a quickly increasing threat to the safety of Foreign Service personnel and facilities. Marvin chaired a committee that developed new inter-agency security standards for existing and the construction of new Foreign Service buildings aimed at countering the rising terrorism threat. With the development of new standards for the construction of Office Buildings, Marvin was selected to head up the creation of a new Division within the State Department Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) to manage security programs for the protection of overseas building renovations and new construction sites. This assignment was followed by an assignment as ADS to a regional office located in Miami, FL. It was during this assignment that Marvin's home was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. It was at the end of this assignment that Marvin's twenty-eight-year career with the State Department ended with his retirement. His retirement took him to Northwest Florida, where he had built a new home near Freeport, FL. However, it didn't take very long until his traveling itch needed scratching, so he applied for and was awarded a contract with OBO to become a Site Security Manager for that Bureau. For the next twenty years, Marvin completed assignments as a Site Security Manager at locations on nearly every continent of the world.

When Marvin finally hung up his spurs, actually retired, and moved back to Montana, his fifty-year career as a public servant had taken him to over ninety percent of all the countries in the world. Not bad for a small-town Montana boy who lived the American Dream. No services are planned for Marvin's passing. He has been cremated, and his ashes will be spread near the Wall Mountain valley where he lived as a little boy.

Donations may be made in Marvin's name to the nearest animal shelter.