James Marshall

On January 23, 2020, James Marshall of Punta Gorda, Florida, at the age of 83 years, unexpectedly but peacefully exited this plane of existence. The welcoming committee consisted of his parents, Anna and Frank Marshall, sister Margaret, nephew Chuck, brother Frank, daughters-in-law, Greta and Maggie and his cherished granddaughter Emily Marshall, plus an abundance of in-laws, cousins, friends, and acquaintances. Let’s just say you needed a ticket to be there. Knowing Jim, and his dislike of pageantry and fuss, he headed straight to the bar to have a shot of his favorite scotch and to meet his other welcoming committee, a large and varied contingency of grand-dogs, friends’ dogs, stray dogs (notice a theme here?)  and cats, along with any other creatures that he’d known during his earthly incarnation! Just like people, if it had fur, feathers or fins, they too were a part of his family. He leaves behind his sister, Catherine Bellow of Trenton, NJ,  the love of his life and wife of 61 years, (who he teased was a cradle robber because he was 3 months younger) Joyce (Cooper) Marshall, his children, James (Jimmy) Marshall of Robbinsville, NJ, Susan Marshall of Nashville, TN, John Marshall of West Amwell Township, NJ Joseph Marshall, and daughter in law Suzanne of Robbinsville, NJ, and Stephanie (Marshall) Meehleder and son in law Jim of Greenfield, MA. Plus three awesome grandchildren, Charles Marshall, Olivia Meehleder, and Kai Pratt, and Jim’s niece/God-daughter, Margo (Margaret) Lihvarcik and family. Jim also leaves a long list of sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, friends, and acquaintances whose lives he impacted and influenced, in ways he never knew. Jim had a love for aviation which started in his younger years. At 12, he jumped on his bike and rode 12 miles to the Robbinsville Airport because he was fascinated by airplanes. A friendly pilot saw him hanging around and made a deal that if he swept the floor of the hanger the pilot would take him on a flight around the Trenton area. The floor got cleaned and away they went into the sky and after that, he was hooked. After graduating from Trenton Catholic HS, Jim attended Quaker City Aviation Maintenance School in Philadelphia, Pa where he earned his Airframe Powerplant Certificate. He began working at Bristol Airport and later moving his toolbox to Mercer County Airport for Remmert-Werner which later became Ronson Aviation. After starting to build a home in West Amwell Township, NJ for his growing family, an opportunity came knocking from the United Nations. Jim took a job as the crew chief for a helicopter being used to finally survey the Andes Mountains between Argentina and Brazil settling years of dispute. Coming home almost 14 months later, he had the money needed for him and his father to finish their house. Jim came right back to Ronson Aviation and then later took a position as Chief of Aviation Maintenance for Dow Jones Corporation where he finally locked his toolbox and retired in 1996. He and Joyce chose a quiet and peaceful community to settle into in sunny Florida where they enjoyed nearly 20 years. Jim was a force of nature. A hard-headed, stubborn Irishman, who believed in facts and figures and researched any and everything that would affect him or his loved ones' lives and he never took no for an answer. Really. You just never told him no. If you did, he’d have 50 volumes of data to back up his decisions. It was like arguing with the encyclopedia Britannica, or in later years, Google. 99 percent of the time, he was right and we never spoke of the 1 percent that he wasn’t because he’d find some obscure fact to back it up, just because he could! Jim’s fashion sense was legendary. He owned a different white v neck t-shirt for every occasion and it went with everything! He was nothing if not practical!  His skill in the kitchen was remarkable and to this day, remnants of his recipes still appear in our family kitchens. 2 boxes of cereal mixed together, the famous Dad dinner of Spaghettios and Raviolios combination, the spoonful of peanut butter topped with 3 chocolate chips as a snack, He also introduced a certain sister in law to Green Onion dip and International Delight Irish Creme, something she still is hooked on to this day. His sense of humor was observational and on point. His wit was dry, but he did tell some pretty awful “Dad” jokes which have been endlessly repeated along with many "Dadisms". But of course, Jim's greatest joy was in making his Joycee laugh. Which he did, often, happily and with great love. Jim loved his family and if you were a part of his kids' lives, you were family, and there was no question about it. He had more adopted relatives and kids than Angelina Jolie. One he even renamed "Sannie" (Annie Nalence) as a third daughter so she’d fit in with the family algorithm. Three J’s and three S’s, a perfect fit! Jim was the rock, the foundation to this beautifully blended family he helped create and we will miss him, every day. When death comes with no warning, sometimes you’re left with too many regrets. We are left with nothing but a grateful “thank you”. Thank you for lessons taught by word and deed, thank you for love given freely, without conditions and thank you for the hearty laughter and sense of the absurd you instilled in us. We’ll try to live up to the standards you set. A memorial service will be announced and held in New Jersey at a time to be determined by the family. 
To express condolences to the family and share in celebrating the life of James, please visit www.JohnsonTaylorFuneral.com and sign the online guestbook. Arrangements are by Johnson Taylor Funeral and Cremation.