Donald Arthur Marvin

Donald A. Marvin, 89, of Battle Creek died peacefully August 2. He was born April 18, 1933 in Grand Rapids, MI and was the child of Douglas and Mildred (Smith) Marvin.

Don received his elementary and secondary education at Cedar Springs, graduating from high school in June of 1951. He attended Western Michigan University beginning in the fall of 1951 and graduated with an AB degree in Secondary Education in January 1957. Don taught and coached in several schools between 1957 and 1969. Along the way he took 30 hours of graduate classes in education from Michigan State University. After leaving the teaching profession Don worked at a number of different jobs including several years as a retail store manager for Montgomery Wards. In 1981 he started working for the Department of Defense as a Quality Assurance Specialist for DoD contracts. He continued there until his retirement in 1994.

Don was married to Linda (Ashley) Marvin August 19, 1978. Before settling in Battle Creek, Don & Linda lived in Kewanee, IL and Tipp City, OH. They moved to Battle Creek in 1988 and soon purchased their house on Baseline Road.

Don & Linda both enjoyed traveling and playing golf as well as gardening and casual photography. Both have been active in their churches whether in Ohio or Michigan. Don served a number of terms as a trustee, sang solos, sang in the choir, and worked with maintenance projects around the buildings. He also kept quite busy with repair and remodeling at both their home and their cottage. In addition, he lumbered off 30+ acres on their farm and cut a lot of firewood for sale along the way.

Surviving are his wife Linda; five sons from his first marriage to Ruth (Piper) Nichols - Dave (Jeannie) of Rockford, MI, Tom of Cedar Springs, MI, Tim (Bonnie) of Sand Lake, MI, Jon of Grand Rapids, MI and Jody (Tina) of Belding, MI plus 16 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren; daughter in law Brenda of Sand Lake, ML Don was preceded in death by his father, mother, and eldest son Dan.

Visitation will be at Monday, August 8, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care. Funeral services to celebrate Don's life will be 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 9 at Calvary Baptist Church. A private interment will follow at Solon Cemetery in Cedar Springs, MI.

In lieu of flowers, please make a memorial contribution to Focus on the Family, 8605 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, Christian Aid, 1807 Seminole Trail, suite 200, Charlottesville, VA 22901, Samaritan's Purse for Operation Christmas Child, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607, or Voice of the Martyrs, 1815 SE Bison Rd., Bartlesville, OK 74006. Envelopes for such will be available at the funeral home. Personal messages to the family may be placed at www.farleyestesdowdle.com.