Antoinette M. Marsh, the widow of prominent Philadelphia lawyer James M. Marsh, died on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at her home in Rosemont, PA. She was 92. She is survived by three children, Frances M. Teti (Thomas G.) of Wayne, Michele M. Marsh (Michael Graziano) of Havertown and James M. Marsh, Jr., of Philadelphia; two grandchildren, Michael Teti and Daniel Teti of Wayne; two brothers and numerous nieces and nephews. Mrs. Marsh was predeceased by two children, Michael Joseph in 1943, and Paula Marie in 1994; by a grandson, Christopher Marsh-Lawrence in 1999; by her parents, Amelia and Albert Ferraro of Brookville, PA; and by three brothers and four sisters.
Mrs. Marsh had many talents and accomplishments, but was best known for her engaging, sympathetic and cordial personality, and for her dynamic and energetic approach to life. As a girl growing up in her western Pennsylvania hometown of Brookville, she sang in her church choir, and travelled to Pittsburgh and Cleveland to attend classical music concerts and the opera. She worked for ten years in the women's garment industry, becoming an expert in fabric and a buyer, prior to marrying Mr. Marsh, also of Brookville, in 1942. At that time she moved to Philadelphia where Mr. Marsh was stationed with the U.S. Army before he served overseas. During WWII, she worked as a volunteer at Misericordia Hospital.
While raising her family in Rosemont PA, outside of Philadelphia, she engaged in a variety of pursuits and activities. She attended library science courses at Villanova University, and set up elementary school libraries in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including her parish, Saint Thomas of Villanova. She became president of the Saint Thomas Women's Club, and in later years became a Eucharistic Minister, and a member of the Golden Belles Choir.
In 1979, Mrs. Marsh became an active fundraiser for the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Bar Association, funding agencies providing legal services for the indigent, the abused, the aged, the disadvantaged, and others. Mrs. Marsh was a chairperson of the Andrew Hamilton Ball, a principal yearly social and fundraising event of the Bar Foundation, and was the designer and editor of the elegant Andrew Hamilton Ball Program Book, whose pages showed greetings and displays of the various contributors and attendees of the Ball from both inside and outside the legal world. Mrs. Marsh was ultimately made a Life Trustee of the Philadelpia Bar Foundation as a result of her outstanding work raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in its behalf.
Among her other interests, Mrs Marsh cultivated a spectacular rose garden at her home. She became virtually fluent in the Italian language, continuing an ability from her youth, and travelled with her husband several times to Italy, returning to the birthplace of her parents. Her combination of personal warmth and versatile talent made her a rare and special person who will be missed by all who knew her.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday December 12, 10:00 AM at St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the Villanova University Campus, Lancaster Ave., Villanova, PA. Interment will be in SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Springfield, PA. Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing on Monday from 7 to 9 PM at McConaghy Funeral Home, 328 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore PA. or Tuesday from 9 to 10 AM at the Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Project H.O.M.E., 1515 Fairmount Ave., Phila. PA 19130 or to St. John Hospice, 1221 Race St., Phila PA 19107 or to The Philadelphia Orchestra, 260 S. Broad St., 16th FL., Phila PA 19102 or to Philadelphia Bar Foundation, 1101 Market St., 11th FL., Phila PA 19107.