Raymond Marshall

1931 - 2020

Raymond W. Marshall

October 11,1931 - May 23, 2020

Wake Forest

Raymond (Ray) William Marshall, 88 years young, died on Saturday, May 23, 2020, of COVID-19. Born in Cleveland, OH, he was preceded in death by his brother Richard J. Marshall of Solon, OH, and his parents Great Lakes Captain Raymond A. Marshall and Almeda Mae Nell of Cleveland, OH. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mary Ann Blanchard; 5 children: Sharon Lill, Raleigh, NC; Carol Balsamo, Rockville, MD; Kathleen and Michael (husband) Garcia, Potomac, MD; Thomas and Tammy (wife) Marshall, Lake Worth, FL and Daniel Marshall, Matthews, NC, 11 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Ray's first job was with Sandia Corporation in Albuquerque, NM, as flight test engineer. After only 6 months his college deferments ended and with draft on the horizon, Ray enlisted into the Navy. As a lieutenant during the Korean War, he was the operations Aerology Officer with many collateral duties including permanent trial counsel for special court martials. Ray loved the Navy but electrical engineering was his first calling. He left active duty, with a Well Done, in 1957.

Moving to Syracuse, NY, Ray then joined GE's Defense Systems Department. Over a period of 11 years, he was a project engineer on the Atlas project, sonar systems and a liaison project engineer on GE's ground floor entry into large-scale time sharing systems. Still with GE, he moved the family to Potomac, MD, where he continued his career and retired in 1988 as Senior Vice President in the Information Division which developed, operated and marketed one of the first worldwide information networks. Many features, such as "The Cloud", were already implemented worldwide in the GE system.

In retirement, he and his wife moved permanently to Lake Gaston, VA. They joined a growing parish, now St. James Catholic Church in Henderson, NC., where they were very active in the church community. He was a 50-year plus member of the Knights of Columbus and a member of the Fourth Degree. In 1999, he was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope John II for his activities.

In 2018, Labor Day, he hit a major physical set back which left him wheelchair bound, living in an assisted living facility in Wake Forest, NC. His wife, Mary, has been constantly at his side. He was able to return to Sunday church services at St. James where he continued to be a member of the choir. His singing was always in service of the Lord.