OBITUARY

MARSH
EARL L., 84, of Carrollton, died Wednesday, March 6, at RHD Memorial Medical Center of heart failure. Mr. Marsh's family moved by covered wagon from Alabama to the Carrollton-Trinity Mills area shortly after his birth on April 3, 1917. He lived his entire life in Carrollton as did his wife of more than 50 years, Odell Smith Marsh, who preceded him in death in December 1990. During the mid-1950's, the Marsh's operated the first local soft ice cream stand located next to the old Plaza theater on the squire in Carrollton. Marsh's Freezette was well-known for it generous root beer floats, 25-cent hamburgers and ice cream cones. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh moved their business to Harry Hines Blvd, where Marsh's Drive-in operated until the late 1950s, closing when business suffered due to construction on Harry Hines Blvd. In addition to the soft icre cream business, Mr. Marsh worked for more than 40 years at the old Gaylord Container Company in Letot, which later became Crown Zellerbach. He worked for the company in its Love Field and Garland locations. During the late 1940s while working for Gaylord, Mr. Marsh helped organize one of the first chapters of the Pulp and Paper Mill Workers Union at that plant. Mr. Marsh enjoyed painting, cooking and recounting stories of the history of Carrollton and of growing up during the Depression. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marines in WWII. Mr. Marsh is survived by his daughter, Charmayne Marsh of Washington, D.C. a former reporter for the Dallas Morning news who was also the first female press spokesperson for former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Wright (D-Fort Worth). Other survivors include Charmayne's husband, Ross F. Mark, of Washington, DC; niece Annabelle Hiley of Carrollton, sister and brother-in-law Maxine and Paul Hill of Odessa; nephews Stanley Devereaux and wife, Linda, of Wills Point, and Richard and Glenda Devereaux of Tolar, Texas; and several great nephews and nieces, one great great nephew and four great great nieces. Visitation will be at Metrocrest Funeral Home Friday, March 8 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Funeral Service will be held Sat at Metrocrest Funeral Home, March 9, at 2:00 P.M., Interment following at Perry Cemetery in Carrollton, TX
Metrocrest Funeral Home

The Dallas Morning News - March 8, 2002
Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams

MARSH
EARL L. - APRIL 3, 1917 - MARCH 6, 2002
ODELL S. MAY 9, 1916 - DECEMBER 27, 1991

Perry Cemetery, Carrollton, Dallas County, Texas