Colonel Marsden was born in Desoto, Missouri to Cornelius "Roy" Marsden and Hazel K. Marsden, in July 1928. Colonel Marsden's father was a WW1 veteran, Sergeant First Class, USMC, and fought in France.

In 1939, Colonel Marsden's family moved to Los Angeles, and settled in Westwood.

He attended St. Paul the Apostle Church School, also in Westwood. He went on to attend Loyola High School, graduating in 1946. He attended the University of Southern California, USC. During his studies there, he enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program, and upon graduating, he was commissioned a second Lieutenant.

He wassent over seas, and was stationed in Morocco, at the Nour Asour Air Force Base, outside of Casablanca. While with the Air Force, he traveled extensively in North Africa and Europe, with tours of duty through Rhine Maine Air Force Base in Germany, amongst others.

Upon his return home, Colonel Marsden used knowledge obtained in the Air Force to jump into the burgeoning aerospace industry in Southern California. His focus was mainly on aerospace marketing and sales. He had a part in such programs as the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions, as well as the Space Shuttles. The last major project he worked on was the C-17 cargo plane for Boeing. He remained on active reserve, and in command of the 9012 Air Force Reserve Squadron, until his retirement in 1983.

An avid USC fan, he was able to watch the USC/UCLA game, before passing on at 3:00 a.m. the next morning.

Colonel Marsden was married to Paula Walsh on November, 1956 in Sherman Oaks where he settled down to live and raise his children, and just last year, celebrated their 50 th wedding anniversary. Colonel Marsden is survived by his wife, Paula, Sherman Oaks, Sister, Beverly Birner, Summerland, Nev. children; Brinton G. Marsden Jr., wife Ingrid, West Hills, Kerri Marsden Brown, husband Tim, Studio City, Craig S. Marsden, Sherman Oaks. Grandchildren; Jason, Brinton, James, Connor, Timothy, and Jennifer.

His funeral will take place at St. Cyrils of Jerusalem Church, 4601 Firmament Ave., Encino, California, 11:00 a.m., Thursday, December 6 th. He will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington D.C., at a later date.