Captain Marshall T. Slayton, USN

Captain Marshall T. Slayton, USN (Ret) of Portsmouth, Rhode Island died on May 27, 2023 at Webster at Rye, Rye, NH.

Marsh was born on May 1, 1931 in Manchester, NH. He was the son of Howard D. Slayton and Marian (Marshall) Slayton.

He graduated from High Mowing School in Wilton, NH in 1948. He attended Dartmouth College for three years prior to receiving a congressional appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He graduated from Annapolis in 1955. In 1970, he received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Naval PostGraduate School in Monterey, CA and was elected to the Sigma Xi Honor Society. In 1973 he received a master’s degree in management from the University of Southern California.

Captain Marshall T. Slayton, USN

Shortly after graduation from Annapolis he married Patricia Winn of Keene, NH. They had three children but their marriage ended in divorce after thirteen years.

His first ship assignment following Annapolis was the USS COMPTON (DD-705) in Newport, RI. On that ship he served as Chief Engineer for Operations in the Northern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf. In 1959 he attended Submarine School in New London, CT. Upon graduation he went to sea on the submarine USS TRIGGER (SS-564). He next served as Assistant Operations Officer for Submarine Group Two in New London. Following that tour he returned to sea aboard USS SARDA (SS-468) as Operations Officer and Navigator. He then received orders to be the Assistant Director of the Submarine School Basic Officers Course. In 1964 he became the Executive Officer of USS HALFBEAK (SS-688). In 1966 he received orders to the Chief of Naval Operations staff at the Pentagon to be Assistant Polaris Executive to the Submarine Officers Division. It was after this assignment that he attended Naval PostGraduate School in Monterey.

While at graduate school he met and married Lucy Sherman of Carmel, CA. Following graduation he devoted the rest of his navy career specializing in submarine engineering and maintenance. He served at Naval Shipyard Pearl Harbor and Naval Shipyard Mare Island. He commanded the Naval Engineering Duty Officers’ School from 1977 to 1979. He retired from the Navy in 1983 as Submarine Force Material Officer for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He was awarded the U.S. Navy Meritorious Service Medal twice during his Navy service.

Following retirement from the Navy, he went to work for Dillingham Construction Company in Honolulu, HI as a project engineer, subsequently becoming Managing Director of Dillingham Construction Hong Kong Ltd.  His major Hong Kong projects included the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Pacific Place Mall and the Hong Kong International School. He later managed Seaward Marine Services in Honolulu which provided water repair and maintenance for submarines of the Pacific Fleet.

Marsh and Lucy moved from Hawaii to Portsmouth, RI in 1999. He tutored high school math from 2000 to 2011, initially at Sylvan learning Center but most of the time at Great Place to Learn in Portsmouth.

He lost his beloved wife of 47 years in 2015. He is survived by his daughter Jane Slayton of Andover, NH; son Thomas Slayton of Manchester, NH; son Ted Slayton and his wife Lisa of Dover, NH; stepdaughter Laura Wall and her husband Jim of Brentwood, CA; stepson Karl Sherman of Soquel, CA; granddaughter Madalyn Pfeifer of Lake Placid, NY; grandson Patrick Slayton and his wife Alyssa of Dover, NH; grandson William Slayton and Katie Quimby of Portsmouth NH, step-granddaughter Melissa Souza of Brentwood, CA; step-great-grandchildren Jonathan, Samantha, William and Kourtney Souza of Brentwood, CA, great-granddaughter Sophia of Dover, NH, and five nephews and nieces.

A service was held on June 12 at Connors Memorial Funeral Home in Portsmouth, RI.