Christian philanthropist and former CEO of Hoare’s Bank Jeremy Marshall has died aged 60, after a ten year battle with cancer.
As the son of an evangelical free pastor, Jeremy spent each summer smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, and later pursued the service of Christ with a similar zeal to his father, though his talent for finance led him to do so in different ways.
After a successful career with Credit Suisse, he was headhunted to become the CEO of the world’s oldest private bank C Hoare & Co, and this gave him both the opportunity and the capital to purchase Kingdom Bank in 2020 in order to grow it and help more churches.
Passion for sharing the Gospel
When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2013, Jeremy decided to spend more time serving other Christians and talking about his faith. In 2015, he was told he had 18 months to live, but found the eight years he was given a tremendous blessing.
He wrote a book about his experience living with cancer, Beyond the Big C, which led to numerous evangelistic opportunities, and he was often invited to speak to churches, businesses, schools, and students.
He was also passionate about sharing the Gospel one-to-one, and he brought many individuals to faith in Jesus Christ. He was also Chairman of Christianity Explored.
‘Faithful servant of God’
Writing for Premier Christianity, Graham Miller, CEO of London City Mission, described Jeremy as his “friend and mentor”.
“Jeremy was a faithful servant of God who used his gifts and resources to advance God’s kingdom. When he was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer in 2013, he did not succumb to self-pity or despair. Instead, he launched a second career as a senior statesman of the UK’s evangelical movement. He achieved much more in his ten years of illness than most of us will in our entire lives.”
He added: “He led many people to faith in Jesus Christ through his gracious persistence. He also created wider networks of community and friendship among believers, encouraging them to look after one another. His legacy is an enormous community of gospel-empowered, Jesus-focused partnerships.”
Jeremy is survived by his wife Jeanette and their three children.