Peter Phillip Marshall

Peter Phillip Marshall, of Minburn, died of a heart attack on June 30, 2016. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at Panther Creek Church of the Brethren in Adel. Family will greet friends from 9:30 a.m. until service time. James and Margaret Marshall welcomed their second son Peter Phillip, on April 23, 1953, a beautiful spring day, in Corral de Bustos, Argentina. Peter learned the love of God from his missionary parents at the Grace Brethren Church in Corral de Bustos, Río Cuarto and General Belgrano (Buenos Aires). Attending school through junior high in Argentina fostered his love of the spirit, culture and futbol of Argentina as well as the Spanish language. Peter spent his high school years in the U.S. and graduated from Dallas Center High School in 1971. He was accomplished at many athletic activities and played soccer at Grace College, from where he graduated with a teaching degree in English and Spanish in 1979. Peter also had a love of music and drama. With his friends, he formed a garage band in high school: “Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck” and continued playing the guitar and singing in choirs for many years. Peter was “called” to teaching and genuinely enjoyed leading people to knowledge and understanding. His teaching style was also his lifestyle: open a person’s mind to possibilities and step back and allow them to come to their own conclusions, never judging their mistakes but always encouraging them to trust in their own understanding. Peter intentionally focused on bettering himself, working to balance the struggle with who he was yesterday and accepting who he is today. This gave him a depth of character that drew people to him. Peter was a man of habit. His favorite habit was reading. With a diverse taste, he did not focus on any genre; however, he would only finish a piece if he considered it cleverly written. Another habit was keeping things he found: art, pottery, feathers, rocks, bird nests, bird claws, walnuts, plants, and especially friends. One object he was very proud of was his first library card from the Dallas Center Public Library from 1969. Left to hold Peter’s memories are his wife Sandra, his mother Margaret, his son John (Jessica), his granddaughter Maya Luna, his daughter Marissa (Ed) Renz, three brothers, Michael (Lani), David (Michelle) and Andrew (Georgia), nieces and nephews, cousins, uncles and a legion of friends. He was preceded in death by his father, James B.. Peter, we will remember you as an intelligent, never critical, gentle man with a great sense of humor and the ability to put people at ease in your company. We have been loving you and will feel the loss of your presence for many more years. Adiós, profesor. Memorial contributions may be directed to Panther Creek Church of the Brethren. Online condolences may be left on this site.