A Celebration of Life for Marshall was held on October 29, 2022 in the Breeding Barn. You can watch the full ceremony below. While you're here, please share a memory or reflection of Marshall in the comments at the bottom of this page. Gifts in Marshall's memory may be made to the Marshall Webb Climate Action Fund. Read about Shelburne Farms Climate Action initiatives that he helped make possible.
Marshall Webb
April 22, 1948 - August 11, 2022
Marshall Webb was the best of Shelburne Farms. He was passionate about this place, its purpose, and its broad community of people, and he served all three with quiet integrity and intelligence. Born and raised at Shelburne Farms, he loved it as his personal home and as his professional career, which began the day he and his siblings founded the education nonprofit in 1972. The impacts of that single act of generosity would ripple out over the next 50 years and beyond.
Marshall Webb with his family on the Inn South Porch, 1969. Not long after, he and his siblings would form the education nonprofit, using the farm as its campus. their father would later bequeath the property to the nonprofit. Left to Right (front row): Alec, Lisa, Robert; (middle row) Derick, Aileen, Elizabeth, Marshall's fiancée Emily Wadhams; (back row) Mary's fiancé David Phillips, Mary, Quentyn, Marshall. Photo: Clyde Smith
From the beginning, Marshall worked on the land; worked with his hands. He milked cows and hayed pastures for the young nonprofit, as he had since he was a boy. He led early camps in the Market Garden, and helped establish our cheesemaking operation, crafting some of our first cheddar. As Buildings and Grounds Manager, he painted, patched up, and repaired everything from aging windows to broken pipes. As he said in 2019, “You look at this place now, and it seems so solid and beautiful and everything is ship-shape. The programs are vibrant. But there was a time when absolutely nothing was certain.” Marshall made the organization’s success more certain.
Marshall and Bill Clapp pressing blocks of cheddar in Shelburne Farms’ original creamery, 1982.
Mostly, Marshall was in the woods that he loved. As our first Woodlands Manager, he tapped sugar maples and tended the boiling sap in our sugarhouse. He felled timber, then milled out beautifully grained boards, first for Lone Tree Lumber, and still today at the Farm Store. (He’d often show up in the office with sawdust in his hair, smelling of wood and the outdoors.) He charted and constructed our first walking trails, opening up this campus to thousands of people who would come to love it as he did. He pursued green certification for our woodlands, then managed them with great thoughtfulness and care. Marshall helped the nonprofit realize its vision of the farm as a true working landscape for learning–an enormous legacy.
The role suited him. Few knew this property as intimately or loved it more. From a lifetime dedicated to these 1,400 acres, he was as much a part of this landscape as the sugar maples and shale. He wore his family lineage lightly–mostly shrugged it off–but his long years at the farm gave him endless stories to share, which he readily did with grace and humor. He was a bridge to the not-so-distant past, though his mind and heart were firmly fixed on the future.
photo: Vera Simon-Nobes
Marshall’s generosity of spirit, deep connection to place, and playful soul were a model for his coworkers and pure magic to program participants and visitors. Over the years and with endless patience, he worked alongside and mentored so many staff in how to tap maple trees or run a chainsaw, then how to close the day with a fierce game of stickball. He met the world with a kindness and curiosity that fed and inspired all who knew him, and all who learned from him.
His curiosity and love for the natural world shined through in his photography, a passion sparked when he picked up his first brownie box camera in the 1950s. He was so attuned to light and atmosphere; to the grand viewscape as well as the details of the forest floor. His vision and talent brought the Shelburne Farms annual wall calendar to life in 2003, and the Lenses on the Land photography workshops in 2006. Both endeavors quietly encouraged everyone to look at the world more closely, care for it more deeply.
credit: Stephen Mease
That was Marshall’s guiding force. Throughout his life, he led with a heart-felt love and concern for the planet, which the nonprofit channeled and shared. As a grandfather and as a citizen of this earth, he was a champion in the fight against global climate change. In his last role at Shelburne Farms, as Carbon Drawdown Coordinator, he spearheaded efforts to help the organization achieve carbon negative status by 2028–in what would have been his 80th year.
Marshall explains biochar to visiting educators, just one of the carbon drawdown solutions that he championed. photo: Bob Schatz.
The day that Marshall died–of a heart attack while swimming in Lake Champlain–the weather was volatile. But it ended, as stormy days often do, with an amazing series of natural wonders: a rainbow, a glowing sunset, and a super moon. Marshall would’ve photographed it all. And it was easy to believe that the universe was honoring him with the show. He was an original, and irreplaceable. Marshall’s legacy here has been profound.
photo: Stephen Mease
For additional tributes to and remembrances of Marshall, please read:
Five, six or seven years ago, possibly even eight, I went on a solo hunt for black ice. It was a clear winter afternoon. I drove to the beach just past the Shelburne Farms guest house where I saw a lone guy in a pickup truck who had just showed up with his ancient skates. (He told me he'd bought them used in 1964.) He later identified himself as Marshall Webb, but that was after the two of us began skating toward the Four Brothers islands.
It was an exhilarating skate, especially when we skated back to shore in the setting sun. It was the only time we ever talked but I was left with a strong positive feeling towards Marshall.
I took a few photos of that skate as well as two or three short videos. If any friend or family member would like to see them, email me: ejeleven@yahoo.com and I will shoot you a link. They're not bad.
The legacy of Marshall-san in nurturing a genuine relationship with nature and land is alive and thriving through our ongoing friendship with Alec-san and Megan-san as we cherish our humility in stewardship. We carry the same light in Nishinomiya, Japan. Warm thoughts and much gratitude from across the big pond (the Pacific Ocean).
Marshall made a difference. An important difference. We are beneficiaries of the legacy he created. He communicated to us about the legacy with friendliness and love. As a resident of Shelburne, one that witnessed Shelburne Farms’ evolution, it feels to me like I have lost a family member. My wish that the memory of his accomplishments be of comfort to his family.
October 2012 was my first time attending a Lenses on the Land workshop at Shelburne Farms . Marshall Webb was a gracious host and photography mentor! He truly enjoyed helping any one of us to get that special photo in a tucked away location not accessible to the general public. He was kind with a friendly sense of humor. I feel blessed to have known him. Big hugs and ❤️ to his family and friends!
— with Steve Seremeth and Sebastian Ventrone at Inn At Shelburne Farms.
I did not know Marshall personally but admired him greatly, as did so many, through my regular visits and knowledge of all the goings-on at The Farms. His spirit and legacy will live on thanks to the wonderful person he was and his influence in creating and working toward such an admirable vision. Gone too soon. Deepest condolences to his family and those who were close with him.
I did not know Marshall well, but I briefly talked with him once every year for about 10 years at the Fall Harvest Festival. He was very kind and generous, buying wooden spoons from me every year, and seemed to be a wonderful person and a lover of olden ways. I am so sorry for all of those to whom he meant so much, and I will miss seeing him again.
Hello Marshall,
It has been over a month since you began your heavenly journey. During that time I have been reading the glowing words of true respect, admiration, appreciation and affection of all the people who shared and were touched by you on your earthly journey. What else is there to say?
Yes, you were a dreamer, a thinker, a visionary and a man of action.
During our short journey together I was touched by how you bathed all those mindful qualities with your wisdom, your light, your love from within. You were the wise man who opened your heart and reached in and brought out a handful of light and placed it my heart and everyone you met. Infinite and unconditional.
Your light, your love is the magic that you added to help create the institution, the organization, the living organism that is "Shelburne Farms".
I am truly grateful to have shared our brief journey. I am most grateful for your gift to us all of "The Farms" which will live in our hearts, our community, Vermont forever.
See you later Marshall, maybe on the trails or skipping rocks on the beach.
All my love, Jim
Marshall always had the time for a passing conversation, to explain a slab of wood or the walking trails that I must have walked over so many miles in my adult life. Early days for afterschool care of our children, tasting cheese, hiking Lone Tree Hill, X-C skiing or running many a 5K, Marshall 's quiet manner personified Shelburne Farms. His legacy will live on and his memory IS a blessing to all who knew him. Feeling sad...
Along with everyone else here I'm a Marshall fan! Both Marshall and Alec, along with the entire Shelburne Farms community welcomed me like family when taught in the shool field trip and afternoon adventures program from 1989 -1992 and then again as a hostess in the Inn the summer of 1994. Marshall has been a stand out person in my life ever since. Big smile, open arms and all heart - one that was clearly working overtime! I am flying east from California to join you in October to celebrate and remember him. My heart is with you all.. Caroline
I visited today and was reminded of Marshall when I knew him over a decade ago when I was in college at UVM. He co-taught my honors college photography class and I have many a fond memory of trucking around the farm taking photos under his direction. That class was always a relief from the pressure of all the other academics. He was always kind, always unassuming, and an excellent teacher. I'm sorry for everyone's loss- he was such an asset to the farm that I love so dearly and still visit regularly.
My memory of not just an American patriot but a patriot of humanity!
There is so much I could say so I thought it best just to talk about the beginning and let thoughts follow from there.
• I had just arrived from the UK in 1987 and was 23 years old. I been picked up from the airport by Alec to take up my new post as Chef at the Inn. I had initially thought that I would have been staying in a hotel but during the journey from the airport Alec told me he thought it was a good idea ‘to stay with my brother’ to help me get acclimatized to my new surroundings etc etc. Inside I was slightly worried that here I was going to be staying in a house with the boss’s brother. I thought, oh no I am really going to have to be on my best behavior . To tell the truth it stressed me out a little but of course manners forbade me to say anything. We then arrived at Orchard Cove on a dark Vermont night.
We went in to the living room and for the very first time I clapped eyes on Marshall. He was sat at his kitchen table with his John Deere cap on sipping a rolling rock. I was met with broadest and most genuine smile
I had ever seen in my life. I think Marshall could tell I was nervous. After the introductions Alec left pretty quickly and before anything else Marshall said to me, ‘fancy a beer’. My luggage was still in the hallway and I hadn’t even seen my room. The next morning my luggage was still in the hallway and I woke up on my bed already a different person. I had been blessed by my first night in the company of the great man!!! I hadn’t seen a CD before then, only vinyl. During the course of the evening I had attended one of the best parties ever and there were only two people present!! There were many other guests who came in and out during the course of the party. To name but a few we had,
Bruce Springsteen
The Who
The Rolling Stones
Steve Winwood
Neil Young
ZZ Top
Even the Bee Gees!!!
And the amazing ‘fire’ by the ‘crazy world of Arthur Brown’.
I was even treated to a live concert with Marshall’s amazing rendition of La Bamba by Ritchie Valens,!! I had never experienced anything like this in my life before..To quote Marshall ‘it was a total gas’!! The die was cast, I had found the big brother I never had!! After getting acclimatized the next day and seeing the Inn properly following the renovation Marshall said we should go out to grab a bite to eat. He said he knew a nice little Mexican place on Shelburne Road called Amigos. I had never eaten Mexican before. Marshall said have you tried Corona before, I said no. Marshall said have you tried tequila before, I said no!!! We went back to Orchard Cove and we’re once more joined by Springsteen, The Who and even Robert Plant on the second night! The third night it was the legendary X Rays at Nectars with a hot open Turkey sandwich,!! The fourth night the ‘Dakota Cut’ prime rib at the sirloin Saloon preceded by the most amazing salad bar!! I had truly arrived in the USA!!! Little did I know that this first three days were to be the start of me becoming a man and learning from the ‘university of Webb’ how it was to be a good person. I even had a subscription to Rolling Stone magazine within a week!!! My confidence grew and I really started not to bother that there was no curtain on the circular bathroom window, just a curtain on the door to the bathroom!! This was life and how to live it with a constant positive outlook. It wasn’t just party central. I saw and learned about Shelburne Farms and all Marshall’s favourite places. I learned to water ski, I learned to love baseball(but not the Red Sox!), I learned to make the best salad dressing, but above all I learned how to respect nature and my fellow human beings. I was almost sad when the apartment at the Inn was ready. And then I remembered, my new friend and mentor didn’t do sad!!! He would always take the positive route and so would I!! Something I still do even 37 years later. Marshall’s spirit will continue to live on and there is no finer legacy than Shelburne Farms, a truly unique wonderful and special place. We all mustn’t be sad today, we should all be eternally thankful we were blessed, each of us in our own individual ways by the greatest of human beings!!
Love you Marshall
Katy, Emily, Juliet, Molly, Lila, Sarah, Diana & Alec
Xxx
David Taylor
Lodge Manager
CORROUR
Corrour Lodge
Corrour Estate, by Fort William
Inverness-shire
PH30 4AA
Marshall's memorial service today was as beautiful and full of love as the life he lived. You touched my life in a profound way, as you did to so many, Marshall. Love never dies.
Marshall was and is still the fabric of our community. From the Farm itself, to the craft school to many of the shops in the village, we all have grown up and into our lives with Marshall with his big, warm smile and his caring for all of us.
In our shop, the coffee counter, is Black Walnut that he and Nick Cowles milled up from a lightning strike at Shelburne Orchards, so now , more than ever, I think of him when I see those counters. The memorial today gave me even a broader picture of how he touched and inspired and loved so many. We are all better people for having had him in our lives
It was a beautiful celebration of Marshall's life on Saturday with an outpouring of love and appreciation for all he and his family have done to create the wonderful place that Shelburne Farms has become. His hands are in every aspect of the farm he loved from the woods to the classes and I have felt honored to have worked on educational projects at the Farm over the years.
A little fun fact: In 1999 the Habanero hot pepper was the hottest pepper in the World. Something that I did not know at the time. This will makes sense later in the story. My name is Tracey Beaudin. My father was Clyde H. Smith. Not only am I Marshall's step sister I was Katie & Marshall's house cleaner for many years and a few different addresses. I am also their gardener. A job that I still love to this day. Even before all of that I worked at Shelburne Farms starting as a breakfast waitress and then moving outside to the Formal Gardens with Birgit Deeds. Eventually I moved on to beautification all over the farm and Marshall was my boss. We would see each other as we passed on the road. We'd stop and have "a meeting". He would ask me if I needed anything and I would reply with either a yes or a no, and then the meeting was adjourned until the next time we would pass each other on the road.
One day we were at the Market Garden and we had come across a new hot pepper that they were growing. The Habenero. Pffft, how hot could it be? They were beautiful. Orange and waxy looking almost artificial. Marshall and I decided that we would, on the count of three each take a bite of a pepper. Mind you, a bite. We each had a pepper in our hands and counted, one, two, three. Somehow Marshall had his in his mouth a split second before I did and he screamed, "NO!" and swatted the pepper out of my hand, grazing my teeth and lips on the way by. Even though I did not "bite" the pepper, my mouth was on fire! There are many water faucets at the Market Garden which was very handy and meant that Marshall and I did not have to share one while we tried to put the fire out in our mouths. Between laughing and crying we decided that we needed milk and bread to help with the heat. We went back to the house and ended up soaking bread in milk and stuffing our cheeks like chipmunks. It took a long time for my mouth to return to normal. To this day, I do not like really hot spicy food.
What an excellent gathering of about 1,000 people in the Breeding Barn, 29 October, to honor the works and memory of Marshall Webb, climate action leader toward net-negative carbon at the amazing Shelburne Farms. A life richly lived and fondly remembered. Family and friends offered a wonderful tribute to his infectious optimism.
I will always think of Marshall whenever I see an old GMC truck. When I would meet him wherever it was that huge grin was the first thing I saw, many times it was like there was a Hollywood movie set light behind him when he turned towards you. Every time I met him I learned something about something so I started greeting him with "Dr. Webb, I presume?" (based on Stanley's greeting upon encountering Dr. Livingston after a year long search for him through the continent of Africa). Marshall never corrected me so I think he kind of enjoyed it. Considering we lived and worked only a few miles apart for the past 40 years, often on similar projects, whenever I met him it was just a wonderful and special meeting. His legacy lives on with his work on the land, his photographs, Kate, his amazing daughters and their families. I will always feel his presence when I walk through the woods at Shelburne Farms, and I know my life and view of the world was enhanced by knowing him.
Dear Kate, family members and friends of Marshall!
It was August 12, 1965 – that’s when all began. After 9 days crossing the Atlantic by boat a lonely
young Austrian boy was standing at a harbor site on the East River overwhelmed by the first sight of
the New York sky-line. It was me, waiting for my host family to pick me up. I had been granted a one
year AFS (American Field Service) scholarship at Groton School, and for the time outside the boarding
school activities I was given the opportunity to become part of a family of a classmate – the Webbs
at Shelburne Farms.
After some waiting time a car drove up, a man and boy got out, it was Marshall – on crutches due to
a broken leg - and his dad Derick Webb. After a short sight seeing tour through Manhattan and a
night at grandma’s penthouse Derick flew us with his private Cessna from La Guardia up to Vermont.
After a few circles above Lake Champlain we landed directly on a lawn strip at Shelburne Farms, and
finally arrived at the Big House – now known as „The Inn“. What a mind blowing experience for me!
At that time I did not know that this would mark the starting point of life-long relationships:
- Shelburne Farms as my second home
- The Webbs as my second family
- Marshall as my close friend and true brother
Right from start Marshall and I became close friends. We both were matching in practically every
aspect. We liked nature and outdoor activities, enjoyed the same sports activities, had great fun
making music, playing guitar and celebrating parties with lots of beer! However, beyond just
having fun, we also shared the same thoughts and feelings – we became true soulmates!
Looking back, skiing always had been our favorite activity. Over the years we skied many famous US
sites like Stowe, Stratton, Vail and Aspen, but also visited the Olympic sites around Innsbruck or
the Italian Dolomites in Europe. It was only in spring 2020, when Marshall and I were skiing at
Innsbruck the last time – together with Molly, Paul, Leo and Pamela – great fun!
The most exciting experience in skiing is definitely cutting the first line on a virgin slope of powder,
maybe even more intensive after hiking or skinning up. Floating down in untouched white, then
looking back up to the tracks just made – what a unique satisfaction! Marshall has done many such
lines all over.
But while his powder tracks have vanished, he left many other maks along his life, be it his
devotion to Shelburne Farms, his passion for its woodlands and Carbon Drawdown mission, or his
determination to continue his family tradition in preserving the original intention of its founder.
However, most important will be the marks he left in the hearts of all the people next to him – his
family, his friends and his colleagues – in other words – YOU!
Marshall!
I am very sad but grateful for almost exactly 57 years of friendship. In my heart I will carry on your
never-ending energy, your ongoing optimism, your charming smile, your catching laugh and your
sparkling eyes at the bottom of a powder run!
So glad I met Marshall at Wesleyan University and remained friends for more than 50 years, actually, 56 but who's counting. Happy I attended his monumental memorial. The memory is becoming one of the treasures in my life. Visited previously as a college student. As an adult, I have so much more of an appreciation. Wonderful to know many more of Marshall's family and friends. What a beautiful group of people with whom to be connected. Not one to be involved with all of the details of the important work being done, I am sharing with many, some of whom may become a part of that effort. For sure, I believe that many will find their way to Shelburne Farms and all will benefit from the exposure. Marshall's life confirms that one person can make a difference. Peace,
"That twinkle in his eye" was a repeated description of Marshall at his Celebration of Life.
I knew Marshall as a teenager. My family spent summers visiting at the Big House, playing hide and seek, swimming and water skiing in the lake. Good times. I saw Marshall over the years, not often, but enough to have a good chat. On the occasion of Emily's birthday (#60?), there was a beach cookout, with Molly and Linc, and lots of Wadhamses. Corn, pre-soaked in the lake, was roasting in the fire and Marshall was out in his boat with anyone who wanted to waterski. He motored in and suggested I ride along, and I did. After he had spun a skier off towards shore, he turned to me. "Come on, Bets, let's get you out there." Me: "Marshall I haven't water skied in over 40 years and I don't have a bathing suit!" Marshall: "Do exactly what I tell you and I will get you out of the water." Then he turned to a young niece in the boat, "you can wear her bathing suit!" (twinkle, twinkle). A towel curtain was held up. Clothing was exchanged, and i jumped in. I did exactly what Marshall told me, and I slid smoothly out of the water. 40 years evaporated. I bravely went back and forth over the wake, loving the glassy water. I could see Marshall grinning. Marshall loved - lived for - the beautiful, glassy water of Lake Champlain, and for making sure there was as much fun as possible.
Bernard Shaw wrote: "We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing." Marshall had not grown old.
I remember Marshall's kindness and steadfastness but most of all his smile. It was so welcoming and always made me feel a part of the Shelburne Farms community. I’ve been in California for almost 15 years now and still feel such a deep connection to Vermont and especially Shelburne Farms. This was intensified when my husband (Steve Beckendorf) and I were invited to the Stewardship Reception last June. Aware of Project Drawdown’s aims we saw in action actual efforts being made to mitigate the climate crisis from solar power to biochar, so much of which was attributed to Marshall’s vision.
And then, in July, I ran in to a new neighbor across our street in the Berkeley Hills and with a few short sentences discovered that she had worked at the Farm! Vera and I shared memories and stories - both of us with fondness and sparkles in our eyes at this serendipitous meeting. For a moment, Vermont felt closer . . .
And then, both of us shared the sadness in August at Marshall’s passing.
Please know there is a little piece of Vermont here in Northern California, in the hills filled with trees and for those of us who hold in our hearts that piece of heaven off Harbor Road and the family and folks who are working so hard to make our world a better place.
Anne Pardee
Vermont Resident 2000-2009
“THAT Is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G...!!!” are the words that repeat over and over in remembering an endearing friendship that blessed my life with Marsh. A real bolt of life to enlighten many a cherished adventure spanning several continents and many decades.
He opened my mind to so many things, important things, to embrace while wending our way through life on this planet. Having Marsh as a friend was a precious gift that will endure in my heart forever. To share in that life well-lived, always curious and graced with remarkable talent, love and perseverance, could be both a serious endeavor and a wild dose of FUN.
Marsh, you are greatly missed, not only by myself but by so many that you touched, loved and inspired along the way. My condolences to Katie, Molly,
all the kids and grandkids.
Godspeed you on your journey. I live in hope that we shall cross paths, yet again, somewhere across the universe.
