John Hampton Marshall, age 78, a lifelong Methodist, died surrounded by his family on April 3, 2019. Born June 7, 1940, in Quanah, Texas, his parents were Hugh Talbott Marshall and Mary Lee Hampton Marshall. His two loving aunts, Katherine and Mildred Marshall, were like “second parents” to John and his sister, Mary. Growing up in Quanah (named for Comanche Chief Quanah Parker), John loved sports and lettered at Quanah High School in football, track and tennis. He attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he graduated in 1964 with a BBA degree. He earned academic honors the last two years in the School of Business. He was a Lambda Chi Alpha at UT and worked in the Texas State Senate during Legislative sessions to earn money for college. John joined the Army Reserves in 1964 and was honorably discharged in 1970 while living in Omaha, Nebraska.
After college, John joined the Army Reserves and went to work for Household International. During his 13 years with Household, he worked in leadership management positions in the Lending and Marketing division of one of their subsidiaries, the Household Finance Corporation (HFC) and served management stints in Houston, Lawton, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha and Oklahoma City. While living in Oklahoma City, he was introduced to his lovely wife, Ann, by a cousin, Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick, and decided to stay in Oklahoma City. In 1977 he took a position with the Installment Lending Department of the Liberty Bank and worked for Liberty for 20 years advancing to manager of the Indirect Financing Center and then to Director of the Liberty Credit Underwriting Center where he handled centralized Direct Lending for all 28 Liberty branches in Oklahoma plus Indirect Lending for 75 Dealer Finance Programs. An employee in John’s department, Jim Estep, once said of John, “He was the best boss I ever had.” John also taught an American Banking System course on installment credit for several semesters at Oklahoma City Community College and a seminar on installment lending at Oklahoma State.
After retiring from Liberty as a vice president in 1997, when Liberty merged with Bank One, John took a comparable management position with the MidFirst Bank for three years, retired and then worked two years as the first full-time Executive Director of the Midtown Re-Development Corporation initiating the round-a-bout traffic controls found in Midtown today. Retirement was not easy for John, having already retired three times, so he has served as the facilities manager and President of his condominium homeowner’s association for the past 10 years,
John loved his church and, coming from a long line of educators (mother, aunts and sister), used his teaching genes teaching Sunday-School classes at the Nichols Hills United Methodist Church for more than 20 years and served as Chairman of their Administrative Council, Finance and Education Committees as well as being a member of the Ushering team. He was active in the community being appointed by three different Governors and confirmed by the State Senate to three terms as a Commissioner on the State Property and Casualty Rate Board. With appointments by three different Oklahoma City mayors, John served six years as a Commissioner on the Oklahoma City Urban Design Commission. He served on the Boards of the Executive Service Corp. of Central Oklahoma (ESCCO), Consumer Credit Counseling Service, Everett Dale Society of the Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Halfway House, Prairie Dance Theater, Westerners International and the Three Rivers Foundation of Quanah, Texas. History was his avocation, being a longtime member of the Oklahoma Historical Society, he enjoyed writing articles about history, particularly “Western History” (some published). As a representative of Westerners International (WI), John was responsible for bringing over 700 attendees to the 2007 Annual Western History Conference of the Western History Association (WHA, college professors, authors, and others prominent in this genre) to Oklahoma City. John was also a faithful member of the Indian Territory Posse of the Oklahoma Westerners and served one term as its Sheriff.
John leaves behind Ann, his loving wife of 43 years. He always said, “She is the light of my lifetime.” He is survived by a great daughter, Mary Margaret Muller plus his delightful granddaughter, Mia Muller; and a terrific son, John Dudley Marshall. Also surviving him are his dear sister, Mary Marshall Bishop and her husband Don of Dallas, Texas; cousins Jerry Hampton and family of Corpus Christi; Suzy Marshall and family and Doug McCrum and family both of Dallas; and all of John’s wonderful nieces and nephews. Additionally, he is survived by two brothers-in-law: Tom Dudley and family of Houston and Oklahoma City; and John Dudley and family of Amarillo; and a multitude of friends. He was the best husband, father and grandfather. Many have said that John was a true gentleman, kind, fiercely loyal to his family and friends, had a great (and sometimes quirky) sense of humor, was a true warrior (survivor of 2 bouts of cancer), and a hero to many.
Contributions to his memory, if desired, can be made to either the Nichols Hills United Methodist Church, 1212 Bedford Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73116 or the First United Methodist Church in Quanah, Texas 79252
Services are scheduled at the Nichols Hills United Methodist Church on Monday, April 8 at 3pm.
