William Emmett Marston Jr.'s Obituary
WILLIAM EMMETT MARSTON JR, 81, of Memphis died January 7, 2009 at his home in Germantown, Tennessee after a brief illness. Visitation will be held from 3 to 5 pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Sunday, January 10. A memorial service will be held on Monday January 11at 1 pm in Wilson Chapel at Christ United Methodist Church, 4488 Poplar Avenue. He is survived by his wife of fifty nine years, Betty Coker Marston, his daughters Beth Marston-Moore (Meade) and Ann Marston Orr (Harry) both of Memphis and his brother, Ralph S. Marston of Dallas TX. He was preceded in death by his son, William Emmett Marston III. He leaves seven grandchildren: Alex Moore, Andrew Moore; Emily Orr Vanderpool (John), Langdon Orr, all of Memphis, and Maddie Marston, Will Marston and Colin Marston of Scottsdale AZ. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama on Nov 11 , 1928 to William Emmett Marston Sr and Witherby Elizabeth Marston. After losing both parents by the age of ten, he lived with his uncle, a Baptist minister. His school years were spent in Arkansas and Mississippi, where his uncle served several churches . He graduated from high school from Jackson, Mississippi. He joined the regular army and served two years in the occupation of Korea at the end of World War II as a member of the Sixth Infantry Division. Following military service, he returned to Mississippi, where he entered the University of Mississippi. While attending ROTC summer camp near Nashville, he met his future wife, Betty Coker, of Nashville, Tennessee through mutual friends. He transferred to Vanderbilt University in Nashville the following year, and he and Betty were married in June 1950. Two days after their marriage the Korean conflict erupted, and he expected orders to return to active duty. As a result, he returned to the University of Mississippi to obtain his army commission. He remained at Ole Miss where he received his undergraduate and law degree, graduating cum laude. While attending law school, he served as Articles Editor of Mississippi Law Journal and received the Phi Delta Phi outstanding law school senior award . He was a member of the Mississippi Bar Association and later served as the president of the University of Mississippi Law Alumni chapter. Following graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge Edwin R Holmes on the United states Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit until he joined the Memphis law firm, Martin & Tate (now Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston P.C.), where he practiced for 55 years. He was a past president of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association, where one of his proudest accomplishments was the implementation of the Memphis Legal Services. He also served as President of the Tennessee Bar Association. While serving as the state bar president, he concurrently served as President of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, which was the first time that a non-resident of Mississippi was selected to serve in that position. Later, he was selected to the University of Mississippi Hall of Fame. The most recent honor he received was the Pillar of Excellence from the Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law in 2008. Throughout his legal career he believed one should give back to one’s profession. So, in addition to serving as president of the local and bar associations, he also served as the original Chair for the Commission on Continuing Education and Specialization and was Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission for the State of Tennessee; was a charter member and fellow member of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Foundation; life member of the American Bar Foundation and served as state Chairman for 9 years; was a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates from 1985 -2001 and served also as state delegate. He served as a member of several American Bar Association committees including, the Membership Committee, the Standing Committee on Specialization, the Task Force on Applying Federal Legislation to Congress, the Consortium of Delivery of Legal Services, and the Standing Committee on Group and Prepaid Legal Services. He was a Director of the American Judicature Society, a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Attorneys and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Bar Retirement Association . Emmett was a member of Christ United Methodist Church for over 35 years where he served in numerous capacities, including legal counsel, lay leader, member of the Administrative Board, and Sunday school teacher. Throughout his life, he was an excellent role model as a husband, father , grandfather and friend. He enjoyed participating and watching all sports, especially football and tennis. He especially loved cheering on his alma mater, the University of Mississippi Rebels. Memorials may be sent to the Marston Benevolent Fund at Christ United Methodist Church, 4488 Poplar Avenue Memphis, Tennessee.
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