John E. "Gene" Marshall

John E. "Gene" Marshall, 9/7/31-9/9/13, died of complications of Parkinson's disease at 82 years. Gene was born in San Jose, CA, but raised in Clio and Westwood in the Sierra Nevadas. He graduated from Westwood High and enlisted in the US Air Force during the Korean War and was stationed in England, where he married Marie Conroy in 1953. When he returned to California with his wife and new daughter, he enrolled at Chico State with a major in Civil Engineering, working first at a gas station and then for Butler Buildings. When he graduated in winter of 1959, he was the father of three. Gene and his family lived in Chico after his graduation. He worked on Oroville Dam, Frenchman Dam, and Antelope Dam before taking a job at the State Personnel Board in Sacramento in 1963. He soon moved his whole family there, where they stayed permanently. He travelled all over the United States recruiting engineers for California. In 1965 he got his Professional Engineer license while working at CalTrans in the Specifications Department. Then in 1987 Gene and his wife Marie retired. They spent many years travelling extensively in Europe, North America, Central America, and Australia. Gene spent his leisure years running marathons, learning to fly small planes, bicycling long distances, diving, skiing, mountain climbing, racing his sailboat, and playing cribbage. He kept very busy with these interests and with his three grandchildren before Parkinson's Disease slowed him down at 75 years of age. He now leaves behind his wife of 60 years, Marie; three children, Jackie, Kay, and Mike [and Yen] Marshall; and three grandchildren, Brooke, Zalman, and Eugene. A Memorial Service to remember and celebrate Gene's life was held Saturday, September 21, 10:00 a.m., at WF Gormley & Sons Chapel, 2015 Capitol Ave., Sacramento CA 95811. In lieu of flowers, remembrances should be sent to the charity of choice or the Parkinson's Foundation.