In his 22 years as one of the founding partners of Manteca’s MCR Engineering, Tony Marshall had a hand in virtually every major construction project in the city. 

From Spreckels Park and CenterPoint to Chadwick Square and Villa Ticino, Marshall – who obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering at BYU only to go on and earn an architecture master’s degree from the University of Washington – was instrumental in the infrastructure design of the developments that have drastically changed the layout and flow of the city over the last two decades. 

With a role in the development of projects that yielded more than 5,800 resident lots in Manteca alone, Marshall – who tragically passed away last week in a car accident in Ripon – developed a reputation as a hard-working family man that saw those that worked for him as equals, and gave opportunities to those that were willing to show that they were capable to assuming a larger role within the small but mighty local company. 

News of his death rocked the company that he founded along with two other partners more than two decades ago, and for the last week his two current partners – both of whom started as employees, and one of them started as a surveyor and worked his way through college and into an ownership role – have been trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces. 

Marshall’s funeral will take place today at 11 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Modest North Stake, located at 4300 Dale Road in Modesto.

“We’re trying to figure out what to do now,” said MCR Engineering partner Dan Eavenson, who came to work for Marshall before eventually moving into his role as a principal engineer. “He was big on family and that is what this place has become to us – it’s family – and everybody is still shocked that he is gone.”

Eavenson first met Marshall back in the mid-90s when both men were working for different companies. He knew immediately that Marshall was the kind of person that you wanted to work for but learned quickly that Marshall didn’t see things the same way – people didn’t work “for” him, but “with” him. 

And that approach to business built the core of MCR’s employees, many of whom have been with the company nearly as long as it has been in existence. While the economic downturn spurred by the housing crisis forced layoffs a decade ago, each of the staffers that stayed on remain at the company to this day, and all of them spoke of Marshall as a larger-than-life figure that managed to do more work than anybody else but still took the time to talk to everybody that walked through the door like they were the most important people in the room. 

“He always had an open-door policy – any employee could come in and talk to him and he would make time for them,” said partner Rob Marler, who started with the company almost 22 years ago as a surveyor. “Nobody ever worked for Tony – we worked with him, together, and that really fostered that feeling of family here.”

Most recently, Marshall was working with both the South San Joaquin Irrigation District – Forrest Killingsworth, the engineering department manager, started his career as an intern at MCR – and the City of Manteca to solve a number of issues that allowed Great Wolf to break ground on the $180 million indoor waterpark resort next to Costco on 30 acres bought from the city. The work on the Family Entertainment Zone, also fell under his watch, as did a number of new residential developments south of the Highway 120 Bypass. 

Marshall is survived by his wife, Lisa, sons Brady and McKay, and daughters Heather and Jennie. All of children attended Beyer High School in Modesto and excelled in athletics before moving on to attend BYU. Marshall was a former president of the Modesto North Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – stepping away last year. Despite the position being one of great clout within the church equivalent to another full-time job, Eavenson said that he didn’t know that he held the position. 

“That was Tony – if something needed to be done, he just got it done,” Eavenson said. “That’s the way that things worked around here. If there was an employee that needed to step away for a family event or a sporting event, he didn’t just encourage it – he demanded it. 

“As long as the work got done, he made sure that everybody was taking care of what is important.”

Eavenson, who joined the football coaching staff at Manteca High School, his alma mater, when friend Eric Reis was named head coach, credited Marshall for making that possible for him – a previous employer wouldn’t allow him to leave work early in order to attend practices, and Marshall, knowing Eavenson’s work ethic and abilities, trusted that he could still do the job while pursuing his passion. 

For Marler, the loss is something that hits extremely close to home as Marshall made sure that he treated everybody’s family like they were part of his own.

“It didn’t matter what he was doing or how much he had on his plate at the time – as soon as he saw one of our kids, he was locked in,” Marler said. “He cared so much about people, and the kids loved coming in to see him. 

“It’s just kind of hard to put into words.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.