DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711140601

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   67 lines

WILLIAM MARSHALL JR. DIES; WAS PAST LEADER OF ARCHITECTS' GROUP

A funeral for William Marshall Jr., a past president of the American Institute of Architects and former chief executive of a major architecture and engineering firm in Norfolk, will be held Saturday.

Marshall died last Saturday after an illness. He was 71.

Marshall, who had lived on the Eastern Shore in recent years, had been active in the American Institute of Architects throughout most of his career. In 1974-75, he served a one-year term as its president.

A native of Ashland, Ky., and the son of a civil engineer, ``Chick'' Marshall had been president of the architecture institute's Virginia chapter in 1969-70.

``He focused the national spotlight on Norfolk when he was AIA president,'' said Bill Ripley, a Norfolk architect who once worked with Marshall. ``We were proud of him. He made architecture in the region a little bit better.''

William Marshall III said his father's pursuit of architecture evolved from his fascination with design.

``He was meticulous about getting the interior aesthetics to match the overall design of a building,'' his son said.

Marshall was instrumental in managing the Norfolk-based architecture and engineering firm MMM Design Group and its predecessor, McGaughy, Marshall & McMillan. At its peak in the 1970s and early 1980s, the firm had more than 450 employees and did business throughout the world.

At different times during the 1970s and 1980s, the firm had offices in Rome, Frankfurt, Athens and Dublin.

Much of the firm's work during that era involved military and government installations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. MMM Design Group also won contracts to design major civilian projects in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iran.

Among the firm's local projects were the designs of Kirn Memorial Library in downtown Norfolk and Webb Center at Old Dominion University.

Marshall, a graduate of Maury High School in Norfolk, attended Virginia Military Institute for a year during World War II but left in 1943 to serve in the Army. After the war, he enrolled in the University of Virginia, where he earned a bachelor's degree in architecture.

He later did graduate work in architecture at Columbia University in New York City.

Marshall worked briefly with an architecture firm in Charlotte, N.C., before moving to Norfolk and joining the architecture and engineering firm Lublin, McGaughy & Associates in 1951.

After the death of a founding partner, Alfred M. Lublin in 1960, the firm was renamed McGaughy, Marshall & McMillan.

Marshall left MMM Design Group in 1984 and set up his own design and consulting firm in Exmore in Northampton County.

In addition to his work with the American Institute of Architects, Marshall served for several years on the board of trustees of the Hermitage Foundation, parent of the Hermitage fine-arts museum in Norfolk.

His interest in design extended to collecting Oriental rugs, fine china and contemporary furniture, said Will Marshall, his son. ``He was not a traditionalist'' in his tastes, his son said.

Marshall is survived by his widow, the former Joan Goodyear Ellingston. He also is survived by three sons: William III, Charles R. and Christopher C.; and two daughters: Jenefer E. and Elizabeth Marshall English.

Other survivors include three grandchildren and a sister, Anne Reid Preston.

A graveside service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at the family's Hill Cottage Farm near Exmore. Arrangements are being handled by Doughty Funeral Home in Exmore.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked that contributions be made to Hospice Care of the Eastern Shore, P.O. Box 453, Belle Haven, Va. 23306. KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY

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