Lee: ‘Marz’ gave years of service to kids in St. Maries

Many communities seem to have a person who has had a lifelong dedication to youth sports.

Perhaps none was as dedicated or had as big an impact as Robert Marzulli.

Born in Spokane, Marzulli grew up in and around St. Maries. He died last week after a short illness five days shy of his 78th birthday.

Mike Bayley, a 1981 St. Maries graduate, figures Marzulli, affectionately known as “Marz” touched thousands of lives in half a century.

“Marz was Park and Rec before there was Park and Rec,” Bayley said. “To me, he was ahead of his time when it came to donating things to kids.”

Marz’s handprint at St. Maries was immeasurable. He coached youth baseball and football teams. He frequently opened up gyms for youth to play basketball. He founded the Elk’s Hoop Shoot and Punt, Pass and Kick programs. If you participated in any of those programs, you were considered part of Marz’s Mob.

He was a 1952 St. Maries High graduate. He attended the University of Idaho for two years and then Eastern Washington University.

After college, he worked for a few years in the lumber industry. In 1970, he earned his teaching certificate at Idaho and began teaching in St. Maries for the next 20 years. He coached the St. Maries High golf team to a state championship in 1980.

He never married or had children, but thousands claim Marz as family, Bayley said.

“I bet 99 percent of the people didn’t know his name was Bob Marzulli,” Bayley said. “They only knew him as Marz.”

Health issues the last 10 years hindered Marz’s involvement in youth sports.

They celebrated a life well lived Tuesday afternoon in St. Maries in a standing-room- only funeral.

Among those whose lives were touched by Marz were former Lewis-Clark State College and Idaho men’s basketball coach George Pfeifer, a St. Maries graduate, who is a men’s assistant coach at Montana State; former Seattle Seahawks vice president for football operations Randy Mueller, a 1979 St. Maries graduate, who is a consultant for the San Diego Chargers; Eric Russell, a standout quarterback in the mid-1980s at St. Maries, who is an assistant football coach at the University of Tennessee; and Jeff Choate, another St. Maries alum, who is an assistant coach at Boise State.

Those are just a few of the well-known people Marz influenced over the years. There are countless others who are less known that he impacted as well.

Mueller was asked by a friend what he remembered about Marz.

“I told him I remember we didn’t get participation trophies,” Mueller said. “Back in those days he thought you needed to compete.

“I’m not sure there has been a more influential person in the lives of kids and athletics in the history of the town. It’s a giant deal and obviously a giant loss.”

Pfeifer and his family moved to St. Maries in the eighth grade.

“We’d lived in the Everett area and I’d never moved before in my life,” Pfeifer said. “He did a marvelous job of helping me integrate with my future classmates and friends.”

Marz was a man of few words, Pfeifer recalled.

“He wasn’t one of those guys that talked all the time, but when he did you paid attention,” Pfeifer said. “He wasn’t running around handing out verbal accolades so when you got one it was special. He had this way of keeping you grounded.”

An appropriate memorial must be done for Marz – whether it’s the naming of a gym or field.