Longtime St. Charles agricultural teacher dies
By BRENDA SCHORY bschory@kcchronicle.com
ST. CHARLES – Hailing from a different era, when the Fox Valley had more farms and less sprawl, William Marshall taught vocational farming at St. Charles High School for 30 years.
It was a popular class from the 1950s through the 1970s, said his friend and former co-worker Paul Bergeson. Marshall not only taught farm kids the basics of farming, but also adults in the evening.
His family was preparing to give him a 93rd birthday party on Oct. 9, but Marshall died Thursday in his sleep at home in St. Charles.
"We were getting ready to celebrate his birthday, my brother was coming in to do that, and this happened Thursday," said his son, John Marshall of Naperville. "He was just a practical joker who liked to kid and joke around. But he was always a guy who always had a story to tell."
Marshall was born to a farm family in Cuba, a little town near Peoria, the second of six children and the only boy. He graduated from Cuba High School in 1934, president of his senior class. He was active in high school sports, plays and operettas and 4-H – setting the stage later for his involvement when he came to St. Charles in 1950.
"He was the ag teacher, and I was the social studies teacher," Bergeson, 82, also of St. Charles said. "He was one of those people who was good at whatever he did: Good with kids, good as a teacher, good as an organizer. He was at every football game. He went to the plays, musicals and basketball games."
Vocational agriculture waned as a high school course as development reduced the amount of farmland. Marshall was also a St. Charles school bus driver for 25 years, driving his route before school started, his son said.
Marshall met his late wife, Reita Oeser on a blind date in 1937. After they were married, the town gave them a shivaree, that is a loud serenade of the newlyweds of the townspeople by banging on pots and pans. As part of the shivaree, Marshall collected his wife in a wheelbarrow and wheeled her down to a local store, Bergeson and Marshall's daughter, Kay Marshall said.
Marshall's wife died last year. The couple had been married for 68 years.
"He was in a wheelchair, but his mind was sharp," Kay Marshall said. "He liked to play bridge. The men would come to the house to play bridge with him."
Bergeson was among those who played bridge regularly with Marshall.
"We'll miss him," Bergeson said. " He touched a lot of lives and their lives are better for it. He was one of those people who worked hard for the kids and the community, and he'll be missed."
Visitation for Marshall will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, followed by a funeral service at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles.
