John Joseph Marsh: Obituary. Dies during international Great 1918 Flu Pandemic

==John Joseph Marsh was born Feb. 12, 1869, in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland. He died at age 49 of influenza (during the international Great 1918 Flu Pandemic) on June 1, 1918, in Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington.== 

OBITUARY

The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Washington, Monday, June 3, 1918

JOHN J. MARSH

IS CALLED BY

DEATH

Veteran Fire Chief Passes Away

At Local Hospital After Brief

Illness -- Funeral To Be Held

Tomorrow Morning.

One of Bellingham's most genial citizens and for nearly twenty-five years employed in the fire department of this city, half of that time as its chief, died at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 10:45 o’clock Saturday night after an illness of ten days, and six days after he was taken to the hospital. He was conscious a short time before his death and conversed with members of his family just before the final hour.

The funeral will be held tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock at the Church of the Assumption, with the Rev. Father James Barrett officiating. Interment will be made in Bay View Cemetery under the direction of Harry O. Bingham.

Mr. Marsh was one of the first volunteer firemen of the city and as head of the city department he was one of the most efficient fire fighting experts on the coast. He was recognized as an authority on fire prevention and was for a time vice president of the Pacific Fire Chiefs’ association. About the first of the year he retired as chief of the fire department to become marshal for the government of the Pacific American Fisheries shipyards, and he had just completed the organization of a fire fighting company there when taken ill. Mr. Marsh was very sociable, made friends quickly and held them. He was born in Ireland. He was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he was for years president; Elks Lodge No. 194; the Eagles and the Modern Woodmen and of the Church of the Assumption.

Mr. Marsh is survived by Mrs. Marsh; one daughter, Miss Mary M. Marsh; one son, Robert F. Marsh, of Bellingham; by his mother, Mrs. Robert Marsh, of O’Neill, Neb.; two brothers and three sisters, M.J. Marsh, Bellingham; Robert Marsh, O’Neill, Neb.; Mrs. Anna Jennings, Park City, Utah; Mrs. John Hunt, Omaha, and Mrs. Tim Hanley, O’Neill, Neb.

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Myths of the Great Pandemic  

By Richard Gunderman, Indiana University Jan 13, 2018 

100 years later, we still har­bor mis­con­cep­tions about the flu ep­i­demic of 1918. And we still can learn a lot from it 

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2018/01/14/Myths-of-the-Great-Pandemic-of-1918/stories/201801140063 

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Yes, this flu season is brutal, but it's not the worst  

By Kim Painter, Special for USA TODAY, Jan 22 2018 

In a very atypical year, exactly 100 years ago the United States saw the first waves of the worst modern flu pandemic, one that killed an estimated 675,000 Americans. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/01/22/yes-flu-season-brutal-but-its-not-worst/1055525001

John Joseph Marsh: funeral. 1918 in Bellingham, Washington

FUNERAL

The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 1918

MARSH FUNERAL

VERY LARGLEY

ATTENDED

Hundreds of Citizens Pay Tribune

To the Memory of Late Fire

Chief – Floral Offerings Are

Numerous.

One of the largest funerals ever seen in Bellingham was that of the late John J. Marsh, for many years chief of the city’s fire department, which was held this morning at the Church of the Assumption, of which he was a member. Hundreds of person, among them city officials, were present and the floral tributes were numerous. Among them were wreaths from the Hibernians, Elks, Eagles and Knights of Columbus, in which he held memberships, and from the city fire department and the Volunteer Firemen’s association. An impressive feature was the tolling of fire bell forty-nine times, Mr. Marsh’s age while the body was being taken to the church.

The services at the church were in charge of the Rev. Father James Barrett. From the church the body was conveyed to the cemetery on fire truck No. 2, on which rode six firemen, who acted as pallbearers. They were Chief Frank Stearns, Assistant Chief Bert Sybrant; Captain Millard F. Stoddart, Captain William Molzahn, Tom Warwick and Frank Leonard. Ahead of the truck four other firemen rode in an automobile. Behind the truck came the deceased’s immediate family and other relatives. In all there were fifteen or twenty automobiles in the procession to the cemetery.

At Bayview Cemetery in Bellingham, Wash. 

John J. Marsh's grandchildren, Tim and Mayo, 

touch the stone. Photo taken 6/12/2012