Even though he’s retired, Addison Township resident Philip Marshall isn’t ready to quit working, which is one of the reasons he’s running for a four-year trustee position on the township board.
‘I’d like to get to know more of the people of Addison Township and see if there are any improvements we can make beyond what (township Supervisor) Bruce (Pearson) has already done,? Marshall said. ‘I just want to stay active in the township and make improvements. (Addison) is a good place to live (and) it’s a good place to bring up kids.?
He’s running on a platform of honesty dedication, hard work and frugality.
‘Just because there is a new monkey-wrench on the market, I’m not going to buy it,? he said. ‘I want to see it if it’s proven and if it will help the township.?
Township government is nothing new to him as he currently serves both on the planning commission and the board of review.
Marshall grew up in Rochester Hills and graduated from Rochester High School in 1963. Following graduation, he got an apprenticeship as a tool and dye maker before being drafted and spending two years in Vietnam between 1969 and 1971. Upon returning home, Marshall said he went back to the ‘job shops? where he worked for 17 years before being hired by General Motors in 1981. He retired in 2006.
‘Two days after turning 62, I walked out the door,? he said.
He moved to Addison shortly after marrying his wife Carole 40 years ago.
When not spending time with his wife, he enjoys splitting his own firewood, which he says keeps him from having to get a gym membership and mowing his five acres of land.
‘I stay busy,? he said. ‘I refuse to go in and become a couch potato and die.?
It’s that stay-busy attitude that keeps Marshall going.
‘Now that I’m retired, I don’t push a time clock anymore,? he said. ‘But I don’t want to quit working.?