SALISBURY — A memorial marker stands outside the Rowan County courthouse on Main Street that carries the names of first responders who have died in the line of duty.

Three years ago the name of William “Billy” Marsh was added, and each year on Oct. 10, members of his department, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, family and friends gather to remember the young deputy who lost his life to COVID.

Marsh was first sworn in with the sheriff’s office in 2012 as a reserve deputy while also working full-time at the Cleveland Police Department. Marsh became a full-time deputy with the sheriff’s office in 2015 and continued to work part-time for the Cleveland department.

Just 40 years old when he died, Marsh left a legacy honored Thursday morning by Sheriff Travis Allen.

“Look at this crowd,” said Allen after his speech. “This is more than we get for the memorial. But that’s the person Billy was. He connected with everyone. He did his job, but he was fair and a decent man who cared about others, and it shows in the way people still come to remember him.”

About 50 people, including family, friends, Allen and other deputies and Cleveland Police Chief Jon Jessop were on hand in the cool, breezy sunshine of the day.

“He was very loved and that legacy lives on,” said Nicole, Marsh’s widow. She said she has so many memories of Billy, including “the day we found out we were pregnant, or a day we were sitting on the floor with our daughter, and we were playing, just the three of us.”

When Billy was hospitalized with COVID, Nicole said he told the nurse he “needed to make it to Halloween because he needed to go trick or treating with our daughter.”

Kennedy was just two when her father died, having had just one of each of the holidays with her father before losing him.

Nicole says she and the whole family talk about Billy all the time, and show her pictures, in the hopes his daughter will remember him.

Billy’s father, Deputy Ronnie Marsh, who has served with the RCSO for 50 years, was quiet during the short ceremony Thursday, saying only that he was glad people had come.

“I know that when Billy left us, you thought you didn’t know how you’d make it through,” said Allen. “And yet here you are, still moving forward. Today, let’s look at things through Billy’s eyes, and not our own. Because our own eyes see things through sadness, but Billy’s eyes are filled with excitement of what comes next. I know right now he’s looking down and cheering you on, saying ‘you made it! Keep going.'”

Allen said he thinks of three things when he remembers his own father, and he asked Nicole and family members for three things that make them think of Billy. Two of the things were Dr. Pepper and mints.

“So today, I encourage you, though maybe not together because it might taste a little funny, go out and have a Dr. Pepper and a mint for Billy, and spend a little time remembering him, and then — carry on, which is exactly what he would want you to do.”