David Roe Marshall

Mar 17, 1953 -

Mar 27, 2020

David Roe Marshall of Girdwood, Alaska, passed away on March 27, 2020, at Alaska Regional Hospital after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

He was born to Gaylen and Carol Marshall on March 17, 1953. Dave loved his birth date, as there was always a party wherever you were for St. Patrick's Day.

Dave grew up in Edina, Minn., where he enjoyed skating to school and was introduced to skiing by his grandmother at Buck Hill. He enjoyed summer trips to the "Sommer Roe cabin" in Prairie Lake, Wis., spending time catching sun fish, waterskiing and visiting with cousins. David graduated from Edina High School in 1971, and went on to attend the University of Montana the following year. It is unclear if Dave actually attended classes but he often laughed about his credits in soccer and skiing and how great the fishing was.

He joined his buddy John from high school there and the two of them enjoyed many epic adventures in Glacier Park, backcountry skiing long before it was popular.

Dave traveled on from Montana to Vail, Colo., where he ski raced in local events and on the newly formed pro ski circuit from 1973 to 1975. In 1977, Dave returned to Montana, where he was a race coach at Snow-bowl Ski Area.

In 1981, Dave made his way to Alaska landing in Copper Center. He found work that first year with the Gulkana fire crew, which was the start of a new adventure. Dave was passionate about his firefighting enjoying a lifelong career with the State of Alaska Division of Forestry "chasing fire" all over Alaska and the Lower 48.

Dave spent his winters in Girdwood, and worked at first as a ski coach for Alyeska Ski Club. In 1986, Dave transitioned from ski coaching to Snow Safety with the Alyeska Pro Patrol. Dave's first year was a tough one as he often told other patrollers that he had "retired from ski coaching to ski patrol." Dave spent a lot of time that first year shoveling the decks. Dave's love of mountains and skiing led to many other endeavors: pioneering the first snowcat ski operation in Cooper Landing; providing avalanche mitigation for the first World Extreme Ski competitions; opening of the North Face ski run at Alyeska; and founding partner of Chugach Powder Guides Helicopter and Snowcat ski operation in Girdwood. Dave was honored to have a trail at Alyeska named after him, "Marshall's Meadow."

Dave met his lifelong partner Janet Ladd at the Sitzmark Bar at the base of Alyeska in 1989 and they spent the next 31 years together spending winters in Girdwood and summers at their cabin in Tazlina, Alaska.

Dave loved spending time with his family and was especially fond of going to his sister's family cabin on the ocean in Tokeland, Wash., where he enjoyed catching Dungeness crab, eating oysters and puddle stomping with his nieces Jennie and Kristina and their kids, Lucas, Brooklyn, Walter and Lana.

Dave was 100% all in on adventures and fun, whether it was puddle stomping with the kids, making the biggest bonfire, having the loudest fireworks, the perfect margarita, the biggest avalanche explosive, the best powder ski run, the perfect water ski run around Lake Louise, fishing with Kennedy or the first on scene at a fire.

Dave is survived by his partner, Janet Ladd; his sister, Debbie and brother-in-law Einor Mezich; nieces, Jennie Griffith and Kristina Boyer and their families. Dave will be missed by his firefighting family, ski patrol family, Janet's East Coast family and many more friends and relatives.

Dave requested no celebration, but when the time is right there may be a very large bonfire, fireworks and margarita celebration.