When I first came to Century Village, it was 2000 or 2001, and I rented in Canterbury K. I think Vivian Walsh was UCO president. Then in the summer of 2004 I bought a condo in Sheffield N. Bob Marshall was UCO president at that point, and he was soon to have his mettle challenged as we were hit that fall with two severe hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne. Steady, unruffled and without fanfare, he guided this Village through perhaps its most difficult time ever. The Clubhouse, almost destroyed, took two years to rebuild. The UCO building WAS destroyed, struck by a mini-tornado spawned by Hurricane Frances. UCO moved to the Camden Pool, sharing the building there with the UCO Reporter. Trees were down all over, but worse was what happened to many of our roofs that had been let go too long by associations. Shingles had become curled and brittle and loosened with age. In a one-two punch by the two hurricanes, large portions of our roofs were blown away, exposing the apartments below to rain and further damage. After Jeanne (thank goodness), FEMA came to the rescue with their blue tarps, which saved many of our buildings from further damage. Everyone pitched in—the UCO personnel, WPRF personnel, Jean Dowling, who headed up the huge Clubhouse renovation project—it is impossible to give all the names. Bob Marshall presided over UCO then, during perhaps our "darkest hour."
Bob also was the one who gave Dave Israel, our long-serving
UCO president, his start in UCO. And when Dave was president, Bob came back to
serve as a UCO vice president. New vice presidents learned from him. A kindly
man, quiet, and knowledgeable about Village affairs from long experience, you
could not ask for more if you had a question at the UCO office. As one example,
he helped innumerable residents with their ambulance insurance claims.
We are sorry to learn of your illness, Bob, and will never
forget you. Thank you for all you did
for us, and may God bless you, your wife Mollie, and your family.
The Marshall's are a wonderful couple and have done so much for the village. We wish them the best!
ReplyDeleteBob "common sense usually isn't common" Marshall. His favorite saying I think. Glad Bob has lots of common sense, I love to watch a whole room of people argue, then Bob waits and gives the solution in one or two quietly spoken comments. Super memory, experience, and common sense, hope he will continue to keep an eye on CV.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. This to me describes Bob Marshall who gave of himself and also his wife Mollie...Thank you!
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