Obituary: Herbert Marsh, Professor Emeritus of Plant and Soil Science

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Herbert Verner Marsh Jr., 84, of Deerfield, professor emeritus of plant and soil science, died Feb. 21.

Born in York, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 1931, he grew up on his father’s farm in Hatfield, attended Hatfield schools and graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1950. Shortly before graduating from UMass Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, he enlisted in the Army, trained as a microwave radio repairman and was stationed in Japan for a year.

He returned to earn his master’s degree in pomology at UMass and then a doctorate in biochemistry/plant physiology at North Carolina State College in Raleigh. That was followed by two years of postdoctoral study at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a summer at Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island, NY.

In 1964, he joined the faculty of the UMass Amherst department of plant and soil science, where he specialized in vegetable crops. The latter part of his tenure was committed to farm Extension work.

In 1979, the family moved to The Bars area of Deerfield, to a farm that had been in the family of his wife, the former Mary K. C. Arms, since 1820, and began spending summers growing mainly tomatoes with his son David.

Marsh was deeply involved in establishing the Pioneer Valley Growers Association in the early 1980s. He was later joined in farming by his daughter Allison, who gradually shifted the emphasis from wholesaling tomatoes to building up The Bars Farm Stand, which continues today.

He retired from the university in 1995 and by 2005 was beginning to do less on the farm.

He was an avid reader and supporter of the Tilton Library in South Deerfield, the Greenfield Public Library and the UMass Amherst Libraries.

He is survived by Mary, his wife of nearly 64 years; his son David, his son-in-law Dean Landale and his family, and his sister-in-law Joan Arms.

A celebration of his life will be held at his home on his birthday, July 14.

Donations in his memory may be made to the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory (to replace aging equipment); the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Scholarship Program, c/o Chris Grant, Box 882, Essex 01929; any of the libraries, or to a charity of your choice.