Obituaries

Founder of Marshalls, Who Built First Store in Beverly, Dies at 94

Alfred Marshall was a Beverly native and Beverly High School graduate whose name was on a popular chain of discount stores with locations across the country.

Alfred Marshall, the Beverly High School graduate who opened the first store bearing his name in North Beverly in the 1950s, has died at age 94.

He died on Saturday, Dec. 28 after a short illness, according to his obituary on Seacoast Online. He was living in Boca Raton, Fla. at the time of his death.

Marshalls stores went on to become one of the biggest names in retailing, selling name brand clothes for discount prices. Today, the chain is owned by TJX, which bought Marshalls in 1995.

Mr. Marshall ran a fruit stand, grocery store and ice cream stand in North Beverly before he came up with the idea of "a self-service department store offering brand names for less" in 1956, according to his obituary.

He helped built the first Marshalls Department Store on Enon Street in North Beverly. Later, after the sale of the stores to Melville Corp. in 1976, he started a chain of Marshalls stores in St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. Maarten.

There were 36 Marshalls stores in the U.S. at the time of the sale to Melville, Marshall's son Ronald, who lives in Hampton, N.H., told the New York Times.

Marshall's memorial service is at Temple B'nai Abraham in Beverly on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 10 a.m. followed by interment at the Sons of Abraham cemetery on Cole Street in Beverly.


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