David W. Marston, former U.S. attorney, onetime candidate for mayor and governor, and longtime Philadelphia lawyer, has died at 80
His dismissal as U.S. attorney in Philadelphia by President Carter in 1978 caused a political ruckus that led to him running unsuccessfully for Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor.
David W. Marston, 80, of Newtown Square, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, onetime Republican candidate for Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor, longtime corporate attorney, author, and veteran, died Thursday, March 2, of complications from a stroke at his home.
Mr. Marston served as U.S. attorney in Philadelphia from July 1976 to January 1978. He lost in the 1978 Republican primary for Pennsylvania governor and the 1979 general election to Democrat William J. Green III for Philadelphia mayor.
He also ran unsuccessfully for the Pennsylvania House and Senate in the early 1970s, was a legislative aide and special investigator for U.S. Sen. Richard S. Schweiker for three years afterward, and worked as a corporate attorney with several firms, including his own, for five decades.
Despite his differences with political rivals and others, Mr. Marston was routinely praised for his ambition, integrity, and unwavering devotion to civic service. He told the Daily News in 1978 as he was running for governor that he sought public office mostly because he could do more good for people as a politician than an attorney.
“I don’t mind taking risks,” he said, “and I like to spend each day doing something I think is worth doing.”
President Gerald Ford nominated Mr. Marston as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1976, and Mr. Marston successfully prosecuted corrupt politicians of both parties and notable cases of police brutality during his tenure.
He was dismissed suddenly in January 1978 after President Jimmy Carter was contacted by a Pennsylvania Democrat, later convicted in a conflict-of-interest case, who was thought to be under investigation by Mr. Marston. The controversial firing created a political uproar across the country, caused Republicans and some Democrats to defend his record, and afforded Mr. Marston a measure of political notice.
A Daily News reader poll just before his firing reported that 3,758 respondents supported Mr. Marston as U.S. attorney, and 126 voted against him. Likewise, the Washington Post reported in 1978 that the White House was flooded with phone calls, telegrams, and letters supporting Mr. Marston.
Mr. Marston was loudly critical of the firing, too. But, on the day he left his office, he told the Daily News: “I feel good about the accomplishments of this office, and I want to go out on a positive, not a negative note.”
A writer as well as an avid reader, Mr. Marston coauthored Inside Hoover’s FBI: The Top Field Chief Reports in 1984, and published Malice Aforethought: How Lawyers Use Our Secret Rules to Get Rich, Get Sex, Get Even … and Get Away With It in 1991. He also wrote book reviews and opinion pieces, including for The Inquirer and Daily News.
He was a part-time instructor at Temple University in the 1970s, served on the board of directors at SEPTA, and was president of Amtrak Commuter Services Corp. in the 1980s.
Longtime Daily News writer Nels Nelson said in 1978: “In person he has a certain ungainly charm and a deadpan wit, and he is instantly likable.” A friend told the New York Times in 1978: “You have to get to know him. He’s reserved, conservative in his demeanor, but a good friend and a very relaxing fellow to be around.”
His daughter, Karen, said: “He had a warmth about him. He could get the best out of people.”
David Weese Marston was born July 17, 1942, in Knoxville, Tenn. He moved with his family to Wyncote when he was 2 and graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1960. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history at Maryville College in Tennessee in 1964 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1967.
He was class president at both Cheltenham and Maryville, and his wife, Linda, said: “He always wanted to be the leader, and he was a leader. He wanted to help people and improve situations.”
He met Linda Zacherle when they were teenagers. They got married in 1966, had daughter Karen and sons David Jr. and Mike, and lived in Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr, and Newtown Square. He spent two years as an officer in the Navy after law school and served on the USS Norfolk.
Mr. Marston was a Boy Scout and played baseball and tennis as a boy. He had a lifelong passion for fishing and took his family often to the bay at Long Beach Island.
He was active at First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for years and drove to the city for Sunday services even after moving to the suburbs. He read the Bible every day, completed crossword puzzles, and especially enjoyed swapping Navy stories with his grandson at the Naval Academy.
In a tribute, his family said Mr. Marston “will be remembered as smart, wise, and kind, and as a man of the utmost integrity.” His wife said: “He was a great guy. I have a big hole in my heart.”
In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Marston is survived by eight grandchildren, a sister, three brothers, and other relatives.
A celebration of his life is to be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 10, at First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, 201 S. 21st St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.
Donations in his name may be made to the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia choir, 201 S. 21st St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.