C. Bruce Marsh
Dr. C. Bruce Marsh passed away peacefully on September 27, 2023, at age 91, just eight days shy of his 60th wedding anniversary.
He was the son of Dr. Fred Marsh and Mildred Marsh and the youngest of three brothers. Bruce was a beloved husband, father and physician whose sense of humor and care for his family and patients will long be remembered.
Bruce graduated from Baylor School, the University of the South (Sewanee) and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. During his college years, he served in the Naval Reserve. Specialty training followed at the Medical College of South Carolina, the Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts and Duke University. Bruce and his new bride, Vicki, then returned to Chattanooga to join his father in the practice of internal medicine and gastroenterology. Bruce was a member of the Hamilton County, Tn., and American Medical Associations and the American College of Physicians and the American Gastroenterological Association.
Having come to saving faith in Jesus Christ in his mid-thirties, Bruce became a member of First Presbyterian Church and, later, Brainerd Baptist Church. He dedicated time each day to reading the Scriptures, and he read the Bible in its entirety to his children. He also earned a certificate in biblical studies from Moody Bible Institute. He was passionate about sharing the good news that Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and grant them new and everlasting life.
In the 1980s, Bruce was introduced by his teenage son (also named Bruce) to a missionary and Bible translator who had been serving in the remote village of Hauna in Papua New Guinea. He caught her vision for a medical center in this remote jungle village and proceeded to raise funds for the construction of a clinic. Visiting surgical teams, most of them led by the late Dr. Louis Carter, have rendered life-changing and life-saving care at the clinic in Hauna. In 2005, Bruce and his wife Vicki served on one of these teams. The clinic still serves as a healing ministry to those along the Sepik River.
Bruce was fortunate to spend his last days with his wife, children and grandchildren all living nearby in Chattanooga. He is survived by his wife Vicki, daughter Susan Stocksdale (Jon), sons Bruce Marsh and Steve Marsh (Rebecca), his grandchildren Daniel Marsh, Caroline Allison, Heather Marsh, Ben Stocksdale, Greg Marsh and David Marsh, and his sister-in-law Virginia Marsh. He was predeceased by his parents Fred and Mildred Marsh and by his brothers Bill and Fred.
A memorial service to celebrate Bruce’s life will be held at Lane Funeral Home Coulter Chapel on October 6, at 2 p.m., with a visitation before the funeral from 12-2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Bruce’s memory to World Medical Mission (Boone, NC).
Arrangement are entrusted to Lane Funeral Home Ashland Terrace, www.Lanefh.com, 423 877-3524.