Marvin Holmes Masterson ’89

Marvin Holmes Masterson ’89 passed away on July 17. Marvin came to Dartmouth from the Cass Technical school in Detroit, where played sousaphone, was captain of the swim team senior year, a National Honor Society member, and an officer in the Youth Caucus of New Detroit Inc. At Dartmouth Marvin participated in the language study abroad program to France, Collis Governing board, Gospel Choir, and Alpha Phi Alpha and served as an assistant in the English as a second language lab. Marvin volunteered as a class agent from 1990 to 1995. After Dartmouth Marvin taught language arts in an elementary school in New York City and worked at Saks Fifth Avenue and Harvé Benard before attending University of Maryland Law School. Marvin was appointed Maryland’s assistant secretary of state and secretary of minority affairs. Marvin served on several boards of directors, including with the NAACP, YMCA of Central Maryland, and Weinberg Family Center. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention twice. Marvin moved to Cincinnati when he joined General Electric in 2005, becoming digital contract counsel for the GE Aviation division. He was on the board of directors of Orion Academy and Alliance Academy Schools. Classmates spoke of his always-present smile, laugh, and ability to make anyone feel welcome. As one classmate put it, “Marvin had a big heart and an even bigger personality—by the time I met him, he had already realized the importance of living life authentically without regard for the opinions of others.”