Violet P. Marshall, 93, a longtime resident of Newtown, died March 2 after a brief illness, safe in her home, as was her strongest wish. Her daughters Josie, Catie, and Jane were with her. Mrs Marshall was born May 14, 1921, in the far western Minnesota farm town of Starbuck. Up until her illness, she had been healthy and enjoying her life, family, and friends. She was one of the last of the World War II G2 Division of Military Intelligence Japanese Code Breaking Operation.

She grew up during the Great Depression. Her childhood shaped her will, character, and strong sense of right and wrong. She spent some of her early school years attending District 41’s one-room school along with her three sisters and a brother. When the family moved to Indiana in the 1930s, she was a finalist in the state spelling bee, only to be tripped up by the word “remodel.” That did not stop her from entering the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis at age 16, and graduating at age 20 Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in English Literature.

Her keen intelligence was noticed and shortly thereafter she was recruited to serve as a translator and code cracker during World War II. She met her future husband, Burke Marshall, while studying Japanese at what they called "spy school" (really G2, the precursor to the OSS and the CIA), outside of Washington DC. They were married in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan.

Upon their return stateside and after Mr Marshall’s graduation from Yale Law School, they moved back to Washington where he excelled as an antitrust lawyer at Covington & Burling and then became assistant attorney general for Civil Rights in the Kennedy Administration. Mrs Marshall was his partner in the home, raising their three daughters, and volunteering at various organizations, including Planned Parenthood and other organizations that promote women's rights. She was a staunch supporter of social and criminal justice reform, and whatever her local library was — particularly the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown, where she worked mending books.

Mrs Marshall lived a good, long, and active life inspired by her strong belief that each of us is deserving of equal treatment and respect, and that everyone has a responsibility to promote the dignity of her or his fellow human beings.

Her grateful friends and family: her daughters Josie Phillips of Durham, England, and Jane Marshall and Catie Marshall, both of Brooklyn; sons-in-law Richard Harris, Nelson Bakerman, and Atley Frett; and grandchildren, Sam and James Phillips, and Morgan and Ian Bakerman survive Mrs Marshall. Her three sisters, May, Alta, and Dorothy, and her brother, Earl, predeceased her, as did her husband, who died in 2003.

A celebration of Mrs Marshall’s life is planned, at her Newtown home, Saturday, April 4, for family and friends. E-mail catiemarshall23@gmail.com for details.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks the consideration of donating to the Burke Marshall Foundation, a family foundation that Mrs Marshall and her daughters established to support human rights, justice, and dignity. Contributions in her memory may be made to The Burke Marshall Foundation, PO Box 426, New Haven CT 06502.