Frank Preston Marshall, example of God’s greatness
Frank Preston Marshall, son of the late Emory C. Marshall and Mary Bell (Murphy) Richardson, was born Jan. 29, 1924, in Pollocksville, N.C. He departed this life Tuesday, March 25, 2017, at the blessed age of 93.
Frank attended the Jones County Training School in Pollocksville until the fifth grade. He eventually moved to Delaware in 1944 where he met and married Ionia Marie Handy who had an infant daughter of her own, Geraldine (who has two sons, Weldon and Wendall Hall), whom he adopted and claimed as his own. Many years after the marriage had ended, he reunited with his childhood sweetheart Blanche of Comfort, N.C. Dickerson Chapel Church would become their church home. Frank joined the men's choir and sang/hummed along until dementia started to rob him of his memory.
His work history consists of various jobs ranging from chicken catching, to truck driving, transportation shuttle bus driver, corn dumping operator and construction laborer. He used his southern farming skills to grow vegetables, peanuts and grapes (which all of the neighborhood kids were allowed to enjoy).
Frank Marshall was an example of God's greatness and what God can do for you and I, if you have a mustard seed of faith. God took a man with a fifth- grade education, gave him the skills, work ethic and knowledge to build his home back in 1959 (with the help of a few buddies). He also became a self-made businessman by purchasing a small rundown house, renovated it and it became his wife Ionia's Beauty Salon. later a rental property. He also purchased a second small home and turned it into a rental property. The entrepreneur spirit that lived in him has been passed down to his children and grandchildren. So ask yourself, are you smarter than a fifth-grader?
In addition to his parents, he was preceded by his wife, Blanche Lee (Rhodes) Marshall; four sisters, Katie Marshall, Clara Lee Duncan, Mary Elizabeth Stokes and Glennie Bell Darden; and one brother, William Henry Marshal, affectionately known as "Ham."
He is survived by his five children, Teresa Marshall, Upper Marlbaro, Md., Cynthia Basnight, Capitol Heights, Md., Frank A. Marshall Sr. (wife Elmira), Richmond, Va., Bruce E. Marshall (wife Robin), Seaford, and Bryan P. Marshall, Frankford; 15 grandchildren, Anthony Hovington, Washington, D.C., Tanya Hovington, Salisbury, Md., Keenan Marshall, Upper Marlboro, Frank A. Marshall Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric Marshall, Washington, D.C., Ericka Pearson, Virginia Beach, Va., Konya Crippen, Newark, Nychelle Hartley-Scott, Baltimore, Md., Jeremiah Marshall, Woodbridge, Va., LaToya R. Holmes, Baltimore, Bruce E. Marshall Jr., Birmingham, Ala., Robby Marshall, Baltimore, Bryson K. Marshall, Frankford, Isaiah and Ahmir Marshall, Richard, Va.; and a host of great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and family.
Celebration of Life service will be Monday, April 3, at 1 p.m., Watson Funeral Home, 211 S. Washington St., Millsboro. Friends and family may call for a viewing hour at 11 a.m. Interment will be private.
