ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio – Edith Merrill (Marshall) Demarest, 82, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, formerly of Auburn, concluded a nearly two-decade battle with Alzheimer’s disease on Tuesday, July 29, and now rests, awaiting the Resurrection.

She was born Sept. 4, 1925, in Auburn, the daughter of Charles S. and Mary (Hinckley) Marshall. She married the Rev. William C. Demarest on Oct. 2, 1960, at the Advent Christian Church in Auburn, and they served congregations in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. They retired in 1987 from the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Bridgeport, Ohio, where she was still a member at the time of her death.

Although she worked during her lifetime as a secretary, crossing guard, and buyer for B. Peck & Co. in Lewiston, she considered being a pastor’s wife to be her greatest calling.

She was also an accomplished writer, organist, pianist, and vocalist, and loved gardening, knitting, crocheting, volunteering, and spending summers at her cottage in Mechanic Falls.

She is survived by two sons and their families: David Demarest and his wife, Diane, daughter, Christina, and son, Robbie Demarest of Bridgeport, Ohio, and Jonathan Demarest and his wife, Donna, son, Phillip, and daughter, Ellen of Granville, Ohio; and by two brothers and their wives: Charles Marshall and his wife, June, of Auburn, and Robert Marshall and his wife, Harriett, of Dover, N.H.

She was preceded in death by her husband and parents.