Friends, colleagues: Jack Marshall "was Westminster'

Westminster College President Barney Forsythe presents alumnus and retired adminstrator Jack Marshall with the school's 2008 Alumni Achievement Award. Marshall died Sunday.
Westminster College President Barney Forsythe presents alumnus and retired adminstrator Jack Marshall with the school's 2008 Alumni Achievement Award. Marshall died Sunday.

When John "Jack" Marshall received Westminster College's Alumni Achievement Award in 2008, he said, "My life has revolved around Westminster for more than 50 years."

That lifetime of contributions to the institution he had called home since graduating as a member of the Class of 1953 came to an end Sunday when Marshall died at the age of 79 after a long battle with lung cancer.

As friends and colleagues reminisced about Marshall Monday, his dedication to Westminster and to Fulton were brought up repeatedly.

"Jack was the embodiment of Westminster College," said Donald Wood, current director of development - a position held by Marshall in the late '70s. "If our mission statement could manifest itself in human form, it would be Jack Marshall. He was Westminster College.

"I would say his legacy is he showed all of us that being part of the Westminster family is a worthy, lifelong, noble cause."

"He was Westminster through and through," agreed Bruce Harris, president and CEO of The Callaway Bank, who first met Marshall when he was a student. "He was so committed to Westminster College."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.