Obituary of G. Marshall Robinson

G. Marshall Robinson, 73, a resident of Shelton for 25 years passed away March 5, 2019, at the family home with his family at his side. Marshall fought a courageous battle with kidney cancer and Leukemia. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. March 17, 2019 at The Pavilion, 190 W Sentry Drive, Shelton, WA. Marshall is survived by his wife Kathy, his adult children: Joel and wife Doni of Norman, OK; Chamagne and husband John of Bremerton, WA; Charese and husband Larry of Port Orchard, WA; Kam and wife Michelle of Bonney Lake, WA; four grandchildren; Grayson, Ella, Ian and Bennett; and his sister Ann and husband Lanny of Missoula MT, along with numerous nephews, nieces, and close friends. Marshall was preceded in death by his mother, Winnifred, father Elbert H, sister Robin, and loving mother-in-law. Marshall was born in Gulfport, “Mississippi/Texas” in 1946. Marshall’s dad, Elbert, was a Texan and wanted his son to be a Texan even if he was born in Mississippi. Because of this desire for Marshall to be born a Texan, Elbert’s friend, the Governor of Texas, arranged to temporarily annex Mississippi into Texas the day Marshall was born. Marshall was named after General George Marshall but was always called Marshall. Marshall’s father served in the military and later civil service. As a result of this, Marshall attended 13 different schools in 12 years. He was fortunate to spend his final 3 years at Stadium High School in Tacoma, where he graduated in 1964. He participated in many activities including: ASB Vice-President, Student Council, Varsity Wrestling, Reserve Wresting, Big S, Honor Roll, Commencement Usher, A Capella Choir, Madrigal Ensemble, ASB Representative, Wrestling Co-captain, and Swim Team. He went on to college at Colorado State College in Greeley, CO, where he was on the wrestling team. Marshall was disappointed that he was being taught what he already knew, so he discontinued his formal education, but he never stopped educating himself. In 1974, Marshall met Kathy through a mutual friend. They rode together to the Wood Nymph Festival, a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) event, held on the Olympic Peninsula at the Dosewallips Campground in the Olympic National Forrest. In 1979, Kathy and Marshall were married at Dosewallips. Marshall came to the marriage with a ready-made family and he and Kathy added just one more… Throughout his professional life, Marshall worked with many different companies and was fortunate to blend his passions with his work life. He started his automotive career with Import Parts & Service. He and Kathy then became the owners & operators of Rallye House in Olympia with partner Bob Murphy. Later, he joined Competition Automotive Machine as an automotive machinist. Marshall then changed career paths to work for the Washington State Grange as office manager and eventually joined The Evergreen State College in 1997. After 21 years of service with the college, he retired on June 30, 2018 as IT Procurement and Supply Spec 3. Marshall loved auto racing, be it from the driver’s seat, the stands or his favorite chair. When he and Kathy first met, he was involved in rallying with the SCCA Pro Rally series and South Sound Race and Rally clubs. While working at Import Parts & Service, he purchased a retired Greyhound bus to use as a support vehicle for Rallying. It was only used once for that purpose. He and Kathy moved into the bus, remodeling it to be a very nice home, where they and the three kids lived for 10 years. He and rally team member Bob Murphy opened Rallye House and sponsored many local racers over the years. Marshall built some of the BEST motors around! He also volunteered as a pit crew member and anywhere else he could help out. Marshall’s love for racing extended to dirt track, asphalt circle track, road racing, off-road racing, and drag racing, but he never forgot his roots with rallying. If it had 4 wheels, he was interested, none of that 2 wheel business for him, “They’re not safe!” In 1993, Marshall and Kathy bought a home in Shelton and his interests changed slightly and he became very interested in landscaping. He started with an acre of Canadian Thistle, chest high, and turned it into the “Garden of Eden” as Ruthmae would later call it. He built a lovely dock down at the creek for fishing and boating. He also rediscovered an interest in carpentry and later remodeled the master bathroom, bedroom and the kitchen, tearing everything down to the studs and rebuilding from there. He did beautiful work and had fun doing it. Early on in their marriage Kathy’s mom owned a cabin at Washaway Beach in North Cove, WA near Westport. Marshall, son Kam, and Kam’s friend Jeremy remodeled the cabin over spring break one year. Marshall was an excellent planner - he ordered all of the necessary building supplies and had them delivered to the cabin. Arriving on a Friday night, Marshall explained the plans to the boys, telling them what to do and how to do it. Early Monday morning he drove back to Olympia to work and returned the following Friday night, leaving the two boys to do the work, while Kathy supervised. It was a wonderful experience for both boys, they did an excellent job, and he was so proud of them! Years later, the cabin was destroyed when neighbor kids broke in and started a fire. Due to the erosion in the area, we were not permitted to build a new cabin. However, we could build a covered picnic area… that soon had a built in barbeque, heat, a very interesting and creative water supply, room to sleep and eat, and eventually 4 walls, complete with Ruthmae’s beloved purple paint. It was the talk of the neighborhood. Many of Marshall’s co-workers made trips to the beach to bring back pictures showing Marshall the progression of the erosion, eventually it washed away. You may have seen it on TV - all of our hard work gone. Marshall had such a big heart he asked Kathy’s mom to come live with them when her health began deteriorating. As much as she loved her mother, Kathy said, “This house isn’t big enough for the both of us!” Marshall went right out and found Ruthmae the cutest little travel trailer, called Ruthmae, invited her to take a look at it and asked her to come live on their property in the trailer with full access to the house. She took one look at the trailer and wrote a check right then and there! Marshall built a lovely porch for her and her own flower garden complete with benches so she could sit to play/work in the dirt. Eventually Ruthmae’s health declined even further and she was moved into the house where Kathy and Marshall could better care for her. (That was OK with Kathy.) She was with them to the day of her passing. Ruthmae loved Marshall with all she was worth and he loved her in return. She changed the title “son-in-law” to “son”. Once the trailer was empty Marshall headed off to Michigan to get his dad. Bob helped keep an eye on Ruthmae & her caregivers while Kathy and Marshall continued to work. Marshall’s dad lived with them until his passing. Kathy and Marshall, now out of parents and kids to take care of, spent more time camping and on cruises. Marshall’s final cruise was a 21 day cruise leaving out of New Orleans, going through the Panama Canal and docking in Seattle. At that time, Marshall had been diagnosed with kidney cancer but the doctors approved of and encouraged them to take the cruise so off they went. Shortly after their return he had surgery to remove his kidney. Marshall loved his grandchildren and was looking forward to the day when he could load them into the motor home and take them camping without parental supervision. He had the pleasure of Charese and family living in the motor home for a couple of months when they returned to Washington after living in California for several years. He felt he finally “got to know” Grayson and Ella. When he was physically able, he enjoyed attending Ian & Bennett’s soccer, basketball, and football games and fishing with them. Marshall enjoyed hunting, sometimes with a good book and no gun, camping, gardening, fishing, cooking, drinking beer (a LOT back in the Rallye House days) carpentry work, cruising, and working. He loved his work and was a very devoted employee. He really didn’t want to retire at age 72, but he did it for Kathy, and so he could get a new puppy! Her name is “Girlfriend” and she’s a beauty and a handful. The family would like to thank everyone for their prayers and emotional support during this difficult time. A special thank you goes to the oncology team at Kaiser Permanente, the nurses at the Outpatient Infusion Services at Providence St. Peter Hospital, and Providence SoundHomeCare and Hospice. In lieu of flowers, Marshall’s family suggests memorial donations to the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, the Washington Chapter of the Sierra Club in Seattle or the charity of your choice. https://crazyhorsememorial.org/dream/ https://donate.crazyhorsememorial.org/ https://www.sierraclub.org/washington https://www.sierraclub.org/washington/give