John Harris Marshall Jr.'s Obituary
MARSHALL JR., JOHN HARRIS born to Jessie Elizabeth Mosley Marshall and John Harris Marshall, Sr on March 12, 1924 in Dallas, Texas. Passed away April 3, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. John had an amazing life! He was raised in a small country town, Charleston, Missouri. After high school he attended the University of Missouri – Columbia. He was drafted into the army during WWII where he served in three military campaigns in Europe with the 8th Armored Tank Division as an M-7 tank commander and was awarded three battle stars for his service. At 19, he was a tank commander, and out of 269 privates he was the first promoted to sergeant. After the war, John attended S.E. Missouri State in Cape Girardeau where his heart was captured by the “sparkle in her eyes”, his wife of 55 years, Betty Zarecor Marshall. He returned to the University of Missouri – Columbia where he majored in Geology and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was awarded his Doctor of Humane Letters from Garrett-Evangelical Seminary in 1996. John started his geology career in Jackson, Mississippi with Magnolia Petroleum & spent the bulk of his career working for Mobil Oil. He worked in many geological positions at Mobil which took him and his family all over the United States. He became the Chief Geologist worldwide and finished his career at Mobil as the Exploration General Manager for the Western Hemisphere. He then created MEI, a worldwide oil & gas consulting and production company. Geology was not only John’s chosen profession but also his hobby. He would encourage young people to find their passion and would tell them, “I can’t remember a day that I didn’t want to go to work. I am amazed that they pay me for working.” He enjoyed worldwide travel, family gatherings across the country, playing games (especially pinochle) and a challenging debate about religion or politics. John was a councilman for Warr Acres, OK, served on multiple boards at the University of Missouri, and served as chairman of the Foundation for Evangelism of the United Methodist Church. John was a lifelong Methodist and served many positions of leadership as a member in 11 United Methodist churches. Following in the footsteps of his parents, he believed in being an example for service and giving to others. John was preceded in death by his first wife, Betty Z. Marshall; parents, John H. and Jessie Elizabeth Marshall and sister, Nannetta M. Brame. John is survived by his wife, Lois Slingerland Marshall who gave him great happiness in his last four years. Also survived by sons, John H. Marshall III (Christine) of Centreville, VA, George Z Marshall (Jane) of Parker, TX and daughter Jacqueline M. Leibach (Chipp) of Boise, ID; ten grandchildren, Timothy, Amy, Ryan, Trevor, John Robert, Chelsey, Sydney, Caitlin, Kendall and Caroline; eleven great grandchildren; brothers, Herbert A. Marshall (Nina) and Jesse M. Marshall (Alma), brother-in-law William E. Brame, and numerous loving nieces, nephews and extended family members. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Elizabeth Klingstedt, his administrative assistant for over 30 years and the caregivers at CC Young for their care, love and support of John. There will be a visitation from 4:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. Friday, April 11, 2014 at Restland Funeral Home. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, May 24th, 2014 at Lake Highlands UMC. Memorials may be made to John H. Marshall, Jr Memorial Fund c/o Lake Highlands UMC , 9015 Plano Road, Dallas TX 75238 or Camp Branson Improvement Fund, Department of Geological Sciences, 101 Geological Sciences Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211.
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