George Payne Marshall

George Payne Marshall, 1813A Manor Court, Kingsport, TN, passed away on Sunday, May 29, 2016 at the age of 94. He was born on July 31, 1921 in Sylvatus, Carroll County, VA.

He was the son of the late Charlie Henry Marshall and Virginia Elizabeth Wright Marshall.

Mr. Marshall resided each winter on Singer Island in the West Palm Beach, Florida area. He served on the board of the Phoenix Towers Condominium Association for 15 years. From 1984 to 2000 he worked as a Captain of the Marshals for the PGA, PGA Seniors Championship and LPGA. From 2001-2005 he served as a Chairman for the Marshals at the ADT-LPGA Championship at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, FL.

Mr. Marshall graduated from William King High School in Abingdon, VA in 1946 after he was discharged from the Army Signal Corp. He attended many Trade Schools and furthered his education in the electrical field with the International Correspondence School. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and Finance and received his certification in Wholesale Management.

He was employed by Kingsport Electric Company from 1939-1947. His employment was interrupted by military service from April 1943 until April 1946.

Mr. Marshall served in the Army Signal Corp, where he graduated from Eastern Army Signal Corp radio repair school in Ft. Monmouth, NJ. He also graduated from the Southern Army Signal Corp radar repair school in Camp Murphy, FL. He was a certified radio and radar repairman and had a Mobile Repair crew maintaining radio and radar units in France during WWII. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Technical Sergeant or Sgt. 1st Class. He served in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation.

In 1948, he formed the corporation of Wholesale Electric with three other partners; Dan White, Bud Miller, and Bill Lacy. All are now deceased. Mr. Marshall retired in 1983 as President and General Manager. Since that time, he worked as a Consultant and Regional Manager for Southern Electric Supply and Rexel, Inc.; the present owners of Wholesale Electric until his retirement in 1998. He was a Lifetime Member of the National Association of Electrical Distributors, having served as Area Chairman and Board Member for 7 years.

Mr. Marshall was a Charter Member of Mafair United Methodist Church and had served as Treasurer, Finance Chairman, Membership and Evangelism Chairman, Board Chairman and served twice as Building Fund Chairman.

He was a member of the Kingsport Civitan Club since 1952 and was a Past President. He was also a former member of the North County Civitan Club in North Palm Beach Florida serving as President. He later joined the Treasure Coast Civitan Club in Stuart, FL. He began his Civitan career as a Jr. Civitan in William King High School in Abingdon, VA in 1938-1939.

He was a member of the Moose, Eagles, Survivors Club, and a Lifetime member of the VFW and American Legion. He served as Coordinator of the Mack Riddle American Legion 4th of July Parade for 18 years and was the Grand Parade Marshal in 2007.

Mr. Marshall served as President of the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, Commercial Division Chairman of the Community Chest, and on the Board of Directors for Holston Valley Community Hospital, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Alcohol and Drug Council, Radio Free Europe, Draft Board, Netherland Inn and many other civic organizations.

He was Chairman of the Simon Granser Marshall, Sr. Association for 40 years from 1961-2000. Under his leadership the Marshall Community Park with a covered pavilion was built in Dugspur,Virginia. A reunion has been held annually since 1957 with 300-500 in attendance and at one time was the largest known family reunion in the state of Virginia.

In 1989, with the help of his wife Thelma, now deceased, they published the first edition of the Simon Granser Marshall, Sr. Family History 1791-1977. In 2002, with over four years of work and his wife's help before her death, the second edition of this book was published. This book traces his family to the 1600's in Ireland. He is a direct descendant of Jacob Marshill, Sr. 1655-1743 who was active in the Quaker movement in Northern Ireland. This book has been sold and shipped to 37 states and 5 foreign countries. He also completed his wife's book on her Feagins family that she had been working on for over 40 years before her death. The Descendants of Rev. William Feagins 1770-1865 was published in 2011.

On March 20, 2014, Mr. Marshall was inducted into the French Legion of Honor as a Chevalier (knight) and awarded the French Medal of Honor by the French government for his military service on French soil. Mr. Marshall spent six months in France in 1945 working as a radar technician for the radar units used during the Battle of the Bulge.

Mr. Marshall is listed in Who's Who in Tennessee in 1961.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Thelma Feagins Marshall, on July 3, 2001; 13 brothers and sisters and their spouses; 8 nieces and nephews; and several great nieces and nephews.; special friend, Carrie Lee Burton Allen on December 12, 2011, who worked with him from 1941-1943 at Kingsport Electric Company before he entered the Army in WWII.

Mr. Marshall is survived by two children, daughter Theresa (Tessa) Jane Marshall Donnelly and her husband Keith Donnelly, Gatlinburg, TN; granddaughter, Suzanne Michele Donnelly Ford and her husband Tom Ford; great-granddaughters, Olivia Michele, Brooklyn, NY and Hannah Mae Ford, New Fairfield, CT; grandson, Ryan Marshall Donnelly and wife Mendi Leithliter Donnelly; great-granddaughter, Caroline Grace Donnelly, Memphis, TN; step-son, Alex Donnelly and wife Barbara Wild Donnelly; step-daughter, Leigh Ann Donnelly Black and her husband Ron Black; step-great granddaughter, Jordan Black, Johnson City, TN; son, Dr. Daniel Payne Marshall and his wife, Julie Sable Marshall, her son and Mr. Marshall's step-grandson, Forrest Sable, Memphis, TN; grandchildren, Julia Michele Marshall and her husband Michael Graber, Memphis, TN, Jeremy Daniel Marshall, Bodega Bay, CA, and his mother, Jennifer Aaron Marshall Medlin, Ellijay GA; 22 nieces and nephews and many great nieces and nephews and their families.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 2, 2016 at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport.

The funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 3, 2016 at Mafair United Methodist Church with Kim Goddard officiating.

Burial will follow at 12:30 p.m. at East Lawn Memorial Park with the American Legion Color Guard participating in the Military Service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Rev. E. L. McConnell Scholarship Fund, Mafair United Methodist Church, 1409 East Center Street, Kingsport TN 37664.

The family would like to express deep appreciation for the excellent care of the Nursing and Therapy staff provided by the health care center at Asbury Place prior to his coming home, and also to his wonderful team of caregivers coordinated by Linda Grills Smith: Deb Bowman, Charity McDavid, Joanna Rich, Nicole Smith and Rosa Starnes.

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