Remembering Gene Marshall, a woman of grit and gumption

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

— Proverbs 31:30-31

Growing up in a small community and close-knit church family I’ve been blessed with a number of what I would consider extra grandmothers. We lost a really good one recently.

Gene Marshall, her real name was Imogene, perfectly mixed farm wife grit and gumption with great care for personal appearance. She could drive a tractor or truck as good as any farm hand. Feeding and caring for farm animals wasn’t a problem either. She knew what it was like to get barnyard on her shoes and she knew how to put that stuff to use in her gardens too.

When it came time to teach Sunday school not a silver hair was out of place. The fairly tall lady with broad shoulders could best be described as handsome in the nicest sort of way. Even as she aged into her 90s at the nursing home she looked great. There was nothing lavish about the way she dressed but the care she took in looking good brought her respect from her family, friends and those she met for the first time.

She was plain-spoken in a country way but always had a kind word and lots of attention for the youngest children she came in contact with. She trained a lot of kids too. Her own children, grandchildren and great-grands, along with 4-H kiddoes for several decades in Roosevelt County are among those she taught. Then there were those Sunday school kids — she only did that for 60 years, so work that math out in your head.

Her son, a preacher, offered a comparison to the wife of the noble character in Proverbs 31. That passage rings true with a lot of our pioneering women in this part of the country but Gene Marshall truly earned that respect with her hard work and dedication to the Lord.

A few years ago my mother asked my help because Gene's county extension club was nominating her for Pioneer of the Year to be honored at the Roosevelt County Fair, one of her favorite events. They wanted me to use my newspaper editing skills to help make Gene’s nomination shine. They sent over what they had and it wasn’t too bad but needed a little work.

I believe I knew most of the information they laid out about the lady, but seeing the accomplishments all down in black and white ... it was pretty jolting how many she had blessed and how much she had been blessed. I personally knew that she’d had a blast living that life, even when the days (and nights) were long. Needless to say, the biography didn’t need any fluffing, it was easy to rewrite.

She always seemed so happy to see me when we met at church or at the nursing home later in her life. She tangled my name up with my dad’s for years but quickly corrected herself. She was someone I always made a point of saying hi to anytime I saw her, because the smile and kind words I got in return more than repaid the effort.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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