Marshall was born in Portland, Oregon in 1951. At the age of two, his family moved south and he grew up as a youngster in various communities in Southern, California. During his early teenage years he became a foster child and moved to various communities in central Washington State, finally graduating from Chelan High School in Chelan, Washington in 1969. “Smashing through Death’s Door” will highlight some of Marshall’s growing up years. Those years can be summarized as varied, turbulent, and surprising. Surprising in that someone who had moved over 20 times before graduating from high school could actually graduate with a "B" grade point average and be accepted and enroll in a major university.
Marshall’s advanced education started at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington in 1969, with the intent of acquiring a degree in electrical engineering, and through Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) become a pilot. Unfortunately, as with many of Marshall’s life endeavors, he did not take the easy or direct route to complete college or to get a pilots license and fly. Marshall eventually graduated from college in 1976 at the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in economics and minor in finance.
During these college years, Marshall took up downhill skiing and backpacking. Many of Marshall’s backpacking trips were solo hikes in the Sierras, and during the summer of 1974 solo hiked the Pacific Crest Trail through Oregon. Time was not of the essence, so he enjoyed the serenity of many of the remote high lakes and mountain meadows for days at a time before moving to the next overnight retreat. During these times, Marshall developed his love for the outdoors and the majesty of God’s creation.
In addition to backpacking and downhill skiing, Marshall has been involved in cross country skiing as part of a combined Alpine and Nordic ski patrol through the National Ski Patrol system; cycling, having participated in the week long rides across the state of Oregon with Cycle Oregon and the Oregon Bicycle Ride on five occasions; mountain climbing in Washington, Oregon and California; as well as hunting fishing and target shooting.
