Gillian Marshall

Gillian Marshall

1943-2025

Margaret Gillian Dobie Marshall, known to all as Gillian, age 82, passed away at her home in Norwalk, Conn., on November 23, 2025.

Born September 1, 1943, in Cheshire, England, to the late David and Lucille Marshall (née Morris), Gillian was raised in Hale, a small town in the north of England in the Greater Manchester area. Gillian attended Malvern Girls’ School and, like many who grew up in her era, attended finishing school in Switzerland.

There, along with learning about etiquette and culture, she became proficient in secretarial skills, notably shorthand and touch typing, and fluent in French. These core skills were to become invaluable to Gillian throughout life.

In her early years, Gillian was given a camera by her parents as a birthday present. She loved it! Photography became her favorite hobby. She would often snap pictures of wildlife and other items of interest surrounding her.

Upon completing her studies in Switzerland, Gillian returned to the United Kingdom (UK). She took a secretarial job working for the editor of The Sunday Times in London, a highly sought-after position. It was during a weekend trip home to Cheshire to visit her parents, who had relatives visiting from overseas, that the course of Gillian’s life would change forever.

The guests were her father’s sister and brother-in-law, the Hayhursts, who lived across the Pond in New York. Gillian struck up such a rapport with the couple, who had children of a similar age to Gillian, her cousins, that her aunt and uncle encouraged Gillian to visit them. Thus, at the age of 21 as a gift from her parents, Gillian set sail for the United States of America, never to call the UK home again. Gillian later recalled that her mother, Lucille, said she knew that Gillian would “end up staying.” And so it was that Gillian’s American adventure began.

With all the skills garnered from her European finishing school days and a reference from UK broadsheet The Times under her belt, Gillian landed a personal assistant job at International Creative Management, or ICM Partners, an international talent and literary agency in New York. In this capacity, she acted as secretary/administrative assistant for the firm. She also helped in making sure the clients’ needs were taken care of.

It was in this role that Gillian was introduced to, and helped manage the career of, many well-known entertainers and performers such as Glenn Close, Jim Dale, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi and Sir Laurence Olivier, to name but a few. Gillian was on a first-name basis with them and, from time to time, was invited out to lunch or to their home. With Gillian’s English heritage, she was a good fit particularly with the British actors. It was all very exciting, and she loved her years in the business and was highly respected for her contributions.

While living and working in New York for nearly 30 years, Gillian took full advantage of the world-class arts and entertainment at her fingertips, especially ballet and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She held a Lincoln Center membership and frequently attended live performances. She bought a tiny cottage in Maine, where she could escape the hustle and bustle of New York – hence her love for the woodlands that she visited regularly.

Gillian was captivated with South Asia. Her interest stemmed from family member Frederick Williamson, Gillian’s uncle, who in the 1930s served as a British political officer. Derrick, as he was known, had deployments in South Asia, specifically in Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan. Derrick and his wife Margaret, Gillian’s Auntie Peggy, formed a deep and personal relationship with the royal families in nearby regions. During this time, Peggy kept a journal that later was published: Memoirs of a Political Officer’s Wife in Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan.

Years after Peggy’s death, Gillian read and re-read her aunt’s journal, becoming enthralled with that part of the world. She began taking trips to South Asia.

While living in New York, Gillian also honed her photography skills. She took pictures of the many faces of the city and the wildlife in Maine. Rarely was she without her camera. Technology had moved on significantly since the days of her first point-and-shoot camera. What started in childhood as a hobby became a passion and lifeline for Gillian later on.

Throughout her working years, Gillian took trips and photographed her adventures, as well as daily life.

Upon her retirement in 1994, Gillian moved to Rowayton, Conn., and bought a lovely little home off Highland Ave., where she lived for nearly 20 years. Now that she was free to choose how to spend her time, she planned to visit South Asia on a regular basis.

She sought out a California-based travel agency that specialized in trips to Asia. The firm put together two-to-three month customized tours for her. Naturally, her camera and notepad went with her. Gillian was on her way, embarking on a venture that would allow her to live her dream and capture her intrigue with South Asia for many years to come.

What a wonderful retirement plan!

Gillian would spend months at a time in Asia becoming enmeshed in its culture. She believed it was a fragile region of our planet, where people still live much the same way their ancestors did hundreds, even thousands, of years ago.

With camera in hand, she explored Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Thailand -- these were just a few of the countries on Gillian’s travel list. Fittingly, her email address was “born2travel.”

Her excursions took her across the continent – from houseboat trips on a south Indian river to isolated desert villages to white sandy beaches and the lush green countryside of Sri Lanka. She visited campsites high in the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range separating the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau, where peaks exceed 24,000 feet.

It was on one of these tours that, incredibly, Gillian was offered a private audience with the 14th Dalai Lama and twice was a guest, by special invitation, of the royal family of Bhutan.

She attempted to record her travels and bring to life the culture of the people she came across. She was well-known for her lengthy travel newsletters, packed with enthusiastic detail and thought-provoking information.

Her photography became a kaleidoscope of gloriously colorful cultures and landscapes, representing myths, history, folklore and traditions of those magical places and their peoples.

On film, she captured the splendor of golden palaces and the vibrant garb of nomadic tribes on the edge of civilization. She brought to life this land of flora and fauna and air pregnant with the fragrance of frangipane. Her collection includes the gamut from monasteries to rushing streams and woodlands to the awesome majesty of mountain peaks. Gillian found these experiences to be awe-inspiring, and her pictures convey that.

Luang Prabang in Laos became her home base, and she would divide her time between Laos and Connecticut. In Laos, she volunteered as an English teacher. She developed great respect for Buddhism. Gillian seriously contemplated moving permanently to that enchanting part of the world where she met people from many walks of life, and her images depict the pain and pleasure on the faces and in the eyes of inhabitants.

Her time in South Asia brought her much joy. She loved the country and the people. She sponsored a young girl named Chandrika for nearly 10 years and then later a young boy who had a major medical issue, and Gillian became an advocate on his behalf. She felt fulfilled in being able to help the people in those faraway places and was at peace there.

In Rowayton, and more recently Norwalk, she continued to enjoy local plays and musical performances, especially the Stamford and Norwalk symphonies. And she was a lifelong tennis enthusiast.

The United Church of Rowayton became an important part of Gillian’s life, and she served as resident photographer for years. Twice she organized a group of Tibetan monks to come here and create a sand mandala – numerous intricate, symbolic, cosmic diagrams using millions of grains of colored sand. A few days after completion, the mandala was ritually dismantled and dissolved into Five Mile River to demonstrate that we cannot cling to things that cannot be permanent as this is the origin of suffering.

She was involved with numerous local activities and events and served for 13 years as photographer of Shakespeare on the Sound, an annual summer festival in Rowayton. She also was active in Historic Rowayton, Rowayton Arts Center and New Canaan Society for the Arts. Her postcards and notecards were for sale in retail establishments throughout Fairfield County.

Her expert work earned her more than 70 awards during her lifetime. Exhibitions featuring her artwork ranged from local to international galleries and other venues large and small.

Gillian lived her passions – travel and photography.

And that is an admirable goal and accomplishment.

~

Gillian is survived by her younger sister Wendy and four nieces and nephews: John, Chloe, Venetia and Dudley and their children.