Lee Marsh

Lee R. Marsh is finally free of the cancer and pain that he battled with grace and courage. He died peacefully on Wednesday June 30, 2022, at home with his wife, children and their partners by his side.

Lee was born at Luther Hospital in Eau Claire, WI on April 17, 1960 to Mac and Gert Marsh. He was baptized and confirmed at North Presbyterian Church where he attended most of his life.

Lee grew up in the town of Brunswick. He attended Little Red Elementary, Central Junior High and graduated in 1979 from Memorial High where he lettered in wrestling. He was a member of the Little Red Cardinals 4-H club and stayed on as an adult leader for several years after his children graduated from the same club.

Lee met Amy Bibelhausen when he was a senior and she was a sophomore. They were married on April 24, 1982. They were the love of each other’s lives, best friends, and soulmates. They were overjoyed with the births of their children Beth and Dustin making up their perfect family.

Lee began working in the family shop, Mac’s Seat Cover Center, shortly after it was started by his father in 1970. He enjoyed telling people that he finally began collecting a paycheck when he was 14. Brother, Ted, started working at the shop when he returned from the Army. Mac taught Ted everything he knew about making custom boat covers and Lee focused on the automotive work. After Mac and Gert retired Lee and Amy took over ownership of the business. Lee and Ted honed their craft and received high praise from their customers for the quality of their work on automotive and marine tops, upholstery and so much more. When Lee was diagnosed with cancer in January, he was determined to finish several projects that were in the planning stages for his loyal customers. Unfortunately, the impact of treatment and complications was too great and he was unable to return to work.

Lee enjoyed many family activities which included car shows, camping and snowmobiling. He loved to go deer hunting up in the “big woods” and the annual Marsh men’s canoe trip was a highlight each year. He shot trap for 35 years mostly at Eau Claire Rod & Gun with many straight 25 and high gun awards. As a member of the Pleasant Valley Rough Riders Snowmobile Club, Lee took responsibility for clearing and signing sections of local trails. Just 10 years ago he and Amy took up mountain biking and spent many hours chasing through the woods on bikes. He was an active volunteer on the trails and may have justified the purchase of a few Milwaukee tools for that purpose. Monday night group rides at Lowes Creek County Park with CORBA friends and trips to northern Minnesota, Arizona and Arkansas to ride, brought him joy. Lee and Amy were blessed to meet the Smiglas and be included in the Snowpower snowmobile trips to Montana for six years. The new people on the trip were often advised by Lee to make sure they knew what was behind the snow drift even though he may have ignored Jeff giving him the same advice his first year. The last two summers Lee and Amy were able to park the camper thanks to the Olingers and enjoyed many weekends with friends Karla and Chris at the little clearing in the woods.

Lee’s greatest joy was watching his children grow up to be amazing adults. He was so proud that Beth could change her own oil if she chose to. While he never taught Dustin to play catch, he (almost) perfected their bottle hand-ups through many races. He would have been so proud of #teammarsh and the courage they along with their partners showed while attending to his every need, keeping him comfortable in his last weeks.

In January 2022 Lee was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. He endured many setbacks in his treatment journey. Lee knew in his heart that he would never get to ring that bell, but was determined to have some better days. On June 13, he chose hospice. #teammarsh brought him home on June 15. We lived, loved, laughed, hugged and cried together for 14 days.

The family is grateful for everyone at Mayo Cancer Center and Palliative Care who took care of us when we were scared, hopeful, and everything in between. He was cared for with respect and compassion through four hospitalizations at Mayo in Eau Claire and Rochester. The care at Dove South was exceptional. Lee made a valiant effort to exceed the expectations of the therapy team after his stroke. The Mayo Hospice team made our final journey the best that it could be. The friends, family and coworkers who sent all the positive thoughts and prayers on our behalf, called, visited, sent messages and all the help that was offered or delivered in any way have been amazing. There have been so many unexpected acts of kindness. We can’t begin to list them all, but be assured we appreciate every single one.

Lee was preceded in death by his grandparents; father, Malcolm; niece, Vannessa; all of his aunts and uncles; father-in-law, Peter Bibelhausen; mother-in-law, Joan Bibelhausen and sister-in-law, Jackie Bibelhausen. Additionally, he missed the company of dogs, Fritz, Sake, Bailey, Carter & Chloe; cat, Target and several other small pets.

He is survived by his wife, Amy; daughter, Beth (Esteban) Bergman; son, Dustin (girlfriend, Emily Bergum); mother, Gert; siblings, Cindy (Kevin) Emry, Wendy (Gene) Leirmo, Jane, and Ted (Lisa); sister-in-law, Joan Bibelhausen (Neal Dimick); brother-in law, Peter Bibelhausen and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Celebration of Life: Friday July 8, 11:00 a.m. Visitation: Thursday July 7, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. and one hour before the service on Friday at Cremation Society of Wisconsin, 535 S. Hillcrest Parkway, Altoona, WI. Face coverings will be required inside the building.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to support the trails he loved https://corbatrails.org/leemarsh4us/ or CORBA 2809 E Hamilton Ave. #127 Eau Claire, WI 54701 or Friends of the Eau Claire County Fair P. O. Box 434 Augusta, WI 54722.