Dick Marot wanted everyone to share his joy of building.

So he spent countless hours hand-crafting elegant furniture and beautiful homemade bowls. He shared his mechanical knowledge with anyone who listened and developed an affinity for nature's beauty while riding along bike paths.

But his most fulfilling project was one that never ended – creating those tight bonds with his wife, Kathy, their two sons and two daughters-in-law, nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Marot died Sunday at age 81 after battling cancer.

Richard Clyde Marot was born June 2, 1942, in Columbus, Ohio, the first of Clyde and Lucille Marot's two boys. Clyde Marot, a World War II Army veteran, spent Dick's formative years fighting in the Pacific Theater and Dick Marot kissed his father's photo every night he was gone. When Clyde returned, the family ran a gas station-grocery store in Springfield, Ohio. Everyone pitched in, working long hours before returning to their home above the store on U.S. 40, America's Main Street. During Christmas season, Dick's job was assembling the tin toys they sold.

While the family rarely took vacations, they once visited Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh to see the venue Dick's grandfather, a blacksmith and tool maker, helped construct in perhaps the first chapter of the Marot family tradition.

It was in shop class at Tecumseh High School in New Carlisle, Ohio, that Dick Marot found his first true passion – woodworking. He made beds, nightstands, tables, virtually anything he could dream up, at an unheard-of rate. By year's end, Dick Marot set the shop class record for points – a mark that stood for decades.

Marot went on to the University of Dayton, graduating in 1966 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He briefly attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota before starting a career working for heating, cooling and sprinkler-selling companies that helped Midwesterners live safer, more comfortable lives.

But work only accounted for a tiny portion of a much richer journey.

He met Kathleen Forster, a Mount St. Joseph College nursing student, while attending college. By Sweetest Day, she knew he was special. They married in August 1966. Together, they lived in Minneapolis, Detroit, Kewanee, Illinois, and suburbs of Milwaukee and Cincinnati before retiring to Fairfield Township, Ohio in 2005. They traveled to Hawaii, Alaska, Rome, the Outer Banks, and Hilton Head Island, with Dick pedaling many miles anywhere they stopped.

Together, they learned how to deal with life's curveballs by persevering through the tough times, savoring the good ones and putting family above all else – even if Dick Marot missed a dinner or bent some kitchen forks by turning them into screwdrivers to finish a project.

But they also made sure the Marot boys had the proper tools to succeed.

They instilled the values of hard work, thriftiness, and religion. And, of course, Dick Marot taught his sons some fundamental principles while they rebuilt cars, changed oil, fixed clutch pedals, or studied geometry.

He took his sons to golf courses and beaches, ball games and churches. Occasionally, he might even haul a misbehaving child out of church.

But when the Marot sons and grandchildren became consumed with sports, Dick Marot adapted, delaying his cherished projects to attend their events. His natural charisma made him a popular figure at youth soccer games, middle school and high school football and basketball games and swim meets and he became a regular at his grandchildren's sporting events and rec league games. He never missed a Senior Night, a graduation, a First Communion, a Confirmation, or an artistic performance. He always answered the phone when a son or daughter-in-law or grandchild called and said, "there's this funny noise. What do you think it could be?" or "Could you help me build this?"

He laughed heartily while retelling stories of the funny, scrappy moments he encountered. He relished the family's wins and provided comforting words in the agony of defeat.

In 2004, Marot was first diagnosed with bladder cancer. Still, he found joy in retirement, visiting places such as Alaska or Disney World, places he never went during his childhood or work life.

He biked miles and miles of southeastern Ohio, Hilton Head Island, and any other place he could take a bike. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, their spouses, and his great-grandchildren. And he returned to his woodworking shop, occasionally coating the house in dust and filling it with varnish smells, despite telling his wife "Aww, Kath, it's only temporary."

Twenty years after the first cancer diagnosis, the disease returned and Dick Marot fought his final battle the way he lived life, by building an unbreakable loving, lasting legacy that was even stronger than he was.

Marot was preceded in death by his father and mother, Clyde and Lucille Marot.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Forster Marot; his sons, Michael (Sarah) of Indianapolis, Indiana and Patrick (Mollie) of Fairfield, Ohio; his grandchildren, Joe (Christina) Marot, Luke (Megan) Marot, Elizabeth "Liz" (Josh) Gonya, Zachary "Zack" (Alexis) Marot, John Marot, Caroline Marot, Paul Marot, Kathryn "Kate" Marot and Andrew "A.J." Marot; his great-grandchildren, Henry, Ava and Peyton Marot; his brother, Lee Marot; and several nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11:00am Friday April 19, 2024 in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 400 Nilles Road, Fairfield, Ohio 45014 with Fr. Larry Tharp Celebrant. Friends may call from 10:00-11:00am Friday in the Church Narthex.  Memorials are suggested to Sacred Heart Church or Hospice of Hamilton. Online register book at www.zettlerfuneral home.com