Brenda Marshall quietly passed away in her sleep on Saturday, July 8 th, 2023 . She was born Brenda Mary Summerton, daughter of Frank and Muriel Summerton, on March 24, 1936 in the English town of Halesowen, just outside of Birmingham.
Attending local schools, she later graduated from secretarial school as was the custom of the time. Not wanting to become a secretary, Brenda took employment with a local newspaper as a reporter covering local events. One of her favorite things to do in the evenings was to go to a Birmingham jazz club where her boss, Stan, played in a band called “The Second City Jazz Band”. On one of these evenings, she met her future husband, David Marshall.
After a year of dating, Brenda and David were married. Soon after, the newlyweds moved to Plymouth, England, where David worked for the local television studio, Westward Television, and Brenda again took on the life of a reporter covering local events for one of the Plymouth newspapers (the only woman reporter with the paper). Some of her fondest memories were of this time, newlyweds, living at South Widey Farm, Linketty Lane, Plymouth, England. For work, she would zip around from story to story on a Vespa Scooter, and on weekends, she and David would participate in car rallies in their bright red Austin Healey Sprite. She spoke of these times frequently enough that even the license of the car in engrained in my memory (YOE 312).
Brenda and David had a long-term dream of moving to Hollywood, California where David would later become an Art Director working in the Hollywood Studios, and Brenda went on to pursue her passion for writing and reporting. At this time (early 60’s), it was easier to immigrate to the US from Canada than from the UK. So, to this end, the young couple moved to Canada for two years to establish residence. Two years later, immigration papers in hand, they made the long drive from Toronto to Hollywood. The year was 1965. On Christmas day that year, their only son, Timothy James Marshall was born. Although David and Brenda divorced in 1968, Brenda continued writing, mostly as a free-lance reporter interviewing stars for entertainment industry papers and teen magazines.
The list of names ranged from Bill Bixby and John Glenn to Leif Garrett and Scott Baio. During this period, she also wrote and published three books: The Occult, Sweet Spirits, and Robin.
Throughout the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, Brenda pursued many passions. As a young teenager, her mother taught her to play tennis, and, as long as her health allowed, Brenda played every Saturday up at the courts in Griffith Park, CA. During the winter months, she enjoyed skiing (a sport she took up with David early in their marriage skiing at Mayrhofen, Austria). In California, she tried to make trips to Snow Summit, Mammoth Mountain, or Lake Tahoe as frequently as time and budget would allow.
Her other passion throughout these years was theater. She was active with the Group Repertory Theater of North Hollywood for over a decade. Not only did she do publicity for all their productions (as well as free-lance publicity for other equity waiver theaters in Hollywood and North Hollywood), but she also tried her hand on-stage in various skits and projects. In the later years, she moved her stage talents to the Mayflower Club of North Hollywood (a club for UK expats living in Southern California) and performed in various productions of Pantomimes and Spring Musicals and even wrote one of their productions – Ghosts of the Titanic. In March 2016, Brenda moved from California to Kansas to be closer to family.
Brenda passed away July 8, 2023, at Twin Oaks Health and Rehab in Lansing, Kansas.
She is survived by her son, Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Tim Marshall, daughter-in-law Marlee Marshall, and two grandsons, 2 nd Lieutenant Weston Marshall (US Army), and Jeb Marshall (a senior at the University of Kansas studying Aerospace Engineering). The family will be forgoing a local memorial service.
