Carol Jean Butters Marsh

Carol B. Marsh, 85, died May 19, 2018. Carol was born on October 31, 1932 in Chicago, Ill. She moved to St. Louis at age five, and when she was 14 entered Ward-Belmont preparatory school in Nashville, graduating in 1950. She was president of her senior class. She then entered the College of William and Mary, graduating in 1954 with a degree in fine arts (music). She was president of her sorority, Kappa Delta, and active in many organizations, including the college choir, where she met her future husband, John. Following graduation, she attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York. After a year as a secretary for Diamond Alkali in Cleveland, she and John were married in the Wren Chapel at William and Mary in 1956. They then moved to New Haven, CT for the remainder of John's medical school years. Carol was the breadwinner for the family in that period and for another two years in Boston for his residency. Then children began to arrive, in 1961, 1962, and 1965. They moved to Silver Spring, Md., where John worked at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1963, they moved to Salt Lake City for a hematology clinical fellowship and research. In 1967, they moved back to the New Haven area, where John was appointed a faculty member in what became the Medical Oncology section of Yale Medical School. They lived in North Haven, CT. Carol was active in the Methodist Church, particularly the choir, and enjoyed other singing engagements, including some roles in "Chancel Operas", short operas with a religious theme. She also enjoyed bowling and did some secretarial work at Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital. The family very much enjoyed spending time each summer on Grindstone Island in the Thousand Islands. In 1999, following retirement, they moved back to Williamsburg. Carol was active in the Christopher Wren Association, several bowling leagues, as a volunteer at Hospice House, and the Williamsburg United Methodist Church, especially the choir and bell choir. She was also a member of the Williamsburg Music Club. They lived for 15 years in Ford's Colony and moved to Williamsburg Landing in 2014. Carol had a beautiful contralto voice and perfect pitch. She survived several significant health issues, including breast cancer in 1971, and a renal artery aneurysm while on sabbatical in England in 1975. Carol was predeceased by her parents, Howard and Marion Butters. She is survived by her husband, John, three children, David (Linda) of North Haven, CT, Virginia Haight (Steven) of Conifer, CO and John R. (Kathleen) of Decatur, GA, and six grandchildren, Eric and Christopher Marsh, Dana Paternoster, and Ryan, Nicholas, and Colton Haight. Also, she is survived by her brother Robert of Dublin, OH, her sister-in-law, Nancy M. Stowe of Appleton, WI and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Funeral arrangements are by Nelsen Funeral Home. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 2 at Williamsburg United Methodist Church. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her memory to the Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg, or the Williamsburg United Methodist Church.