Darrell Marshall

A Mass of Christian Burial for 74-year old Darrell Marshall of Chadron, NE, will be Friday, Nov 12, 2021 at 10:00 at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Chadron.

A private inurnment service will take place at a later date at the state veterans cemetery in Alliance, NE.

Rosary will be Thursday, Nov 11, at 7:00, also at St Patrick’s Catholic in Chadron.

Online condolences may be left at chamberlainchapel.com

Darrell A Marshall and his twin sister Deitra were born March 1, 1947, to Alton and Lena Marshall in the Chadron Hospital. Darrell died Wednesday, Nov 3, 2021 with his wife, Lou, and her children with him in the Fremont Hospital, where he had been taken after initially being hospitalized in Chadron.

Darrell was a Dawes County native and a long-time Chadron State College employee who was well known for his leadership in assisting Veterans in the local area.

Darrell grew up on the family ranch near Marsland and graduated from Crawford High School in 1965. Soon after graduation, he joined the Air Force and served in Vietnam in 1967-68.

Following his honorable discharge as an Airman 1st-Class in 1969, he worked on ranches, at a feedlot and was a partner in a construction business before being hired at Chadron State College, where he remained for nearly 30 years

Darrell initially was a repairman for the college heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, but in 1996 was promoted to maintenance supervisor.  He retired in May 2010.

Darrell also coached the CSC rodeo team from 1999 through 2005, one of its most successful periods. In one 4-year span, Will Farrell won two national collegiate bull riding championships and Dustin Elliott another.

Elliott went on to win the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association bull riding title in 2004 and placed 4th in the world standings the next 2 years.

Darrell remained in close touch with Farrell, Elliott, and many other rodeo team members the remainder of his life.

In 1979, Darrell married Lenor Baker of Chadron, who passed away a decade later.  About a year after Lenor died, he met Lou Wilson, who had come to Chadron to manage the Common Cents store. They went to church on their first date.

Lou was from a military family and shortly after their marriage in 1991 both became deeply involved in Veterans’ activities.  She managed the Bill Dowling American Legion Post 12 much of the past decade, and they worked side-by-side in many veterans projects.

He served as the Nebraska deputy representative for the Hot Springs Veterans Home and every two weeks they collected and delivered items to help the residents there to make them more comfortable.

For several years, they also organized and collected up to 500 dozen cookies from American Legion Posts along Highway 20 from Ainsworth to Crawford that were delivered to the Hot Springs facility for their Christmas parties.

In 2014, Darrell and Lou were named the Chadron Record’s Citizens of the Year for their Veterans activities. A few months ago, he stepped down as the Legion’s District 1 Commander, but was still a member of the Dawes County Veterans Board when he died.

A special highlight of Darrell’s life was the close relationship he formed with Lou’s children, who were adults when the couple married.

She notes that each of them as well as their six children embraced him as their father and grandfather and they had many special times together the past 30 years.

They are Jeff Wilson and his wife Lana, Greg Wilson and his wife Su and Wendy Roeh and her husband Jeff, all of Rapid City.

Other survivors include Darrell’s sisters Deitra Coakes and her companion John Theis of Whiteclay, Susan Mintken and her husband Alan of Chadron and Marilyn Keller of Scottsbluff, several nieces and nephews and many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, step-son Rusty Wilson and brothers-in-law Ray Coakes and Bob Keller

Chamberlain Chapel of Chadron is in charge of arrangements for Darrell Marshall.