Alfonso “Rick” Maurice Marsh, II
Born in 1949, in El Paso, TX, died at his home in Issaquah, WA.
Rick grew up seeing many locations throughout Canada, US, and Europe while growing up in a military family. He graduated from Medical Lake H.S. in Cheney, WA.
Alfonso enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17. Alfonso is a Vietnam Veteran and spent his service years in the Navy as part of the Western Pacific Fleet (West Pac) from June 29, 1966 to February 20, 1970. He spent a total of 3 years, 7 months, and 22 days as an active duty sailor. Alfonso sailed on two ships that stopped in many exotic ports of call: Hawaii, Guam, Okinawa, Formosa, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, and Japan. The USS Pickaway APA 222 (September 29, 1966) was based out of San Diego and the USS Windham County LST 1170 (January 16, 1969) was based out of Yokosuka, Japan. Alfonso’s father was a 25-plus year veteran of the Air Force. Rick’s younger brother, Michael also served in the navy. The two brothers ran into each other while their ships were at anchor in Subic Bay, The Philippines – a day Rick will never forget.
After being Hon. Discharged in 1970, Alfonso started working for Montgomery Wards. In 1972 he began working for Pacific Northwest Bell and not long after he met his wife to be Marsha. They were married in Spokane, WA in 1974. After earning his B.A. in Business Administration from Whitworth College the family now with two rambunctious boys: Alfonso III, (1975) and Cory (1976) moved to Seattle in 1979. Completing the family was Melissa (1982).
Rick enjoyed family life. He was active in Boy Scouts: camping and hiking alongside his two boys who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He had a great time being the umpire for Melissa’s softball league. He never forgot the disagreements they had on the field when Melissa thought she had a ball, but he saw a strike. He was also active in the Tukwila School District Equity Task Force and other school district committees.
Working in the telecommunications industry for over 25 years: Pacific Northwest Bell, USwest Communications, AT&T and MetroNet. Rick also did short stints with several smaller companies including Adaptive Instillations and enjoyed touring the country working for Amtrak on the Seattle to Chicago line. Finally he ended his working career with the US Postal Service as a mail carrier in the Seattle area.
In April 2009 Rick was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer. It was a tough three years but he fought with courage and hope. This past July, Rick, Marsha, Sharon, Manual, and Rhonda enjoyed a scenic cruise to Alaska.
The family is very thankful for all the help, support, and love we have received. Rick’s cancer care network was always there to help rally whenever a need arose.