Friends and Gorham natives this week remembered Eben Marsh of Scarborough, who died Dec. 6 at 78.
Marsh grew up on Narragansett Street in Gorham and was a Gorham High School graduate. He later became the town’s manager after serving in that role Berwick.
Marsh
Marsh and his uncle, Roger Knight, launched Hillside Lumber at Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook, a farm Facebook posting said. He also was was instrumental in arranging for the Gorham Historical Society to lease the former town office building at 28 School St. after the then-new municipal center opened at 270 Main St. in the mid 1970s.
Peter Mills, director of the Maine Turnpike Authority, said he remembers Marsh from his Gorham High School days in the 1960s.
“Eben was blessed with common sense and a wonderful demeanor. It is no wonder that he was successful as a manager in two different towns and as co-founder of several businesses,” Mills said.
Marsh’s obituary said he had a “quiet charisma, engaging wit and dry sense of humor. He was sparing with his words yet a natural storyteller.”
A 1962 classmate, Jim Burnham of Gorham, recalled Marsh as president of the class and a fellow Boy Scout. He was “very capable, a studious guy,” Burnham said Monday.
On the state level, Marsh became the director of Maine’s Liquor and Lottery Commission under Gov. Angus King, according to his obituary.
“He grew up to be quite a guy,” Burnham said.
As a high school athlete, Marsh served as captain of Gorham’s varsity basketball team. Teammate Ken Knapton, now of Westbrook, said Marsh was “a nice guy.”
Mills also knew Marsh’s brother, John, and said “Everyone I know remembers them both well and fondly. Their whole family was highly respected.”
John Marsh could not be reached for comment this week by the American Journal deadline.
Marsh enjoyed woodworking and “held a lifelong passion for the outdoors and the sport of fly fishing,” according to his obituary.
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