Former athlete turns 100

Scott Swanson

Of The New Era

NeVelle Marshall’s memory may not be what it once was, but she hasn’t forgotten this: “I always felt at home in the water,” she states matter-of-factly. “I wasn’t afraid to dive.”

Marshall, who turned 100 on Nov. 24, lives in a Sweet Home care home where, with her daughter, Diane Healy of Lebanon, she recounted her life for a visitor.

She was born in 1908 in Betteravia, Calif., on the Central Coast near Santa Maria, an only child – “no brothers, just one wonderful daughter,” Marshall said.

Her parents moved to Oregon “in 1912 or so,” she said, settling in the Coos Bay area for a time. Her father, J. Merrill Smith, raised day-old calves.

When Marshall was a teenager, she was one of the best swimmers and divers on the West Coast, her daughter said.

“She and another girl used to dive off the pier in Coos Bay for 50 cents a dive,” Healy said. “It was about 60 feet to the water.”

Healy said Marshall was the West Coast champion in both freestyle and diving, but never made it to the Olympics.

Marshall said she also taught swimming. She said she used to dive off a 30-foot stand into a pool.

“There was no money in it, just love,” she said. “That didn’t matter. My father made good money.”

Later, the family moved to Tillamook, where J.M. Smith, as her father was known, bought some property and built them a home where the Tillamook Air Museum and airport now stand. During World War II the family land was taken by the government to build a blimp base, Healy said.

“We’re still trying to determine whether the family ever got paid for it,” she said, wryly.

“We had such a good swimming pool in Tillamook,” Marshall chimed in, brightly.

J.M. Smith served as mayor of Tillamook for a time before the family moved again, this time to Portland, where J.M. went into business as a car dealer, selling International Harvester vehicles and equipment.

In 1936 NeVelle met Ralph L. Marshall, who was a hospital administrator for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and also worked for the Loma Linda Food Co., also affiliated with the church.

“He was a registered Republican,” Marshall offered. “My father was a Republican. We were all Republicans. I don’t know why.”

NeVelle served as her husband’s secretary, said Healy, who was born later in 1936. Their second child, Steve, was born four years later.

Their marriage lasted 58 years, until Ralph Marshall’s death.

“My husband was very important to me,” NeVelle said. “We were poor; both of us were working. But we didn’t quarrel.

“His picture on the wall is a joy to me to see.”

Marshall is hard of hearing now and Healy had to speak loudly into her “good” left ear to ask questions.

The family enjoyed horses and rodeos, in which Healy competed, Marshall said.

She remembers getting a Shetland pony on Christmas Day when she was 8 and later got a riding horse.

“My dad was a very generous man,” Marshall said, though she didn’t go into details.

“My father taught me that a closed mouth makes a wise head, which kept me from letting out the family secrets,” she said.

Marshall said she particularly remembers learning to drive “in a 1908 Packard.”

She said she’s enjoyed life.

“I make friends easily,” she said. “My closest and most loved one is like a sister to me. She lives in Washington.”

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