Obituary of Alice J. Marshall

Alice J. Marshall, 91, of Wappingers Falls, died Thursday, January 7, 2021 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center. A resident of this community for 65 years, Mrs. Marshall was a retired teacher of the Poughkeepsie City School District. Born June 25, 1929 in New Haven, Connecticut, she was the daughter of Joseph William Jefferson and Melissa Henderson Jefferson. She grew up with her brother and sister in Shelton, Connecticut, and was a 1947 graduate of Shelton High School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in child development, from Howard University in 1951. She later earned a Master of Education from The College of New Paltz, State University of New York. She married Melvin R. Marshall, also a graduate of Howard University, at Mount Moriah Baptist Church, Washington, DC on July 25, 1953. They began married life in Ipswich, Massachusetts with their wedding present Taffy, a cocker spaniel and the first of many beloved dogs, and moved to Poughkeepsie, New York in 1956. In 1967, she became a second-grade teacher at WW Smith School, later taught third grade at Warring Elementary School in the Poughkeepsie City School District, and retired in 1985. One year, she combined her hobbies of sewing and knitting and love of her students and knitted hats for the entire class. She pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. while a student at Howard University and was a charter member of the Mid-Hudson Valley Alumnae Chapter. She enjoyed an active sorority life, which included public service and a little travel. With three of her sorority sisters, she wrote "A Life of Quiet Dignity: Naomi Sewell Richardson," a book about one of their sorority's founders and a Washingtonville, New York resident. She is survived by her son Melvin Ross Marshall Jr., his wife Kim, and son Michael of Westfield, New Jersey; daughter Shelley Marshall of Wappingers Falls, New York; sister Mrs. Cynthia Redmond of Hamden, Connecticut. She is also survived by beloved nephews, nieces, grand- and great-grandnephews and -nieces. She was predeceased by her husband Melvin R. Marshall Sr. and brother Joseph W. Jefferson. She will be buried after a private service at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: Delta Research and Educational Foundation, www.deltafoundation.net/donate or ASPCA, www.aspca.org/ways-to-give. Arrangements are under the direction of Straub, Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home, 55 E. Main Street, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590. To send a personal condolence, please visit www.StraubCatalanoHalvey.com.