James William Marchbank

James “Jim” W. Marchbank, a life-long resident of South Bend, passed away in his home on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, at the age of 88.

Born in Toledo, Ohio on May 22, 1930, James was the son of Charles and Florence (Peterson) Marchbank.

Jim entered the United States Airforce in 1951 during the Korean Conflict and was honorably discharged in 1954 as a Staff Sargent, where he spent most of the time in England, Germany and France.

He was married to Ruth Coley; who has preceded him in death.  They had a son; Scott Alan of South Bend, and a daughter; Kelly Jean Szyanski of Goshen.  Then on January 6, 1968 in Conklin, Michigan, Jim took Sonja Thompson to be his wife; and she survives of South Bend.  Sonja’s young son, Scott Michael became part of the Marchbank family.  They also were blessed with four grandchildren; Jaime (Kelly), J.R., Scotty, and Sam, and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and a sister; Carol Longbrake. 

Jim retired from Bendix in June of 1988 after thirty-five years of service as a technician and in quality control.  He liked sports of all kinds; baseball, golf, bowling and especially the Cubs.  He also was a member of the VFW Post

A Celebration of life service for Jim will take place at Palmer Funeral Home-Guisinger Chapel on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 11:00 AM with visitation 1 hour prior. 

Memorial contributions may be directed to either the American Cancer Society, 130 Red Coach Drive, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545 or to the American Stroke Association, 6500 Technology Drive, Suite 100, Indianapolis, Indiana 46278.

Online condolences may be directed to the Marchbank family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.