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BIOGRAPHY OF
JOHN H. MARLEY
John Henry Marley - was born October 29, 1891, at Thompson, Arkansas. This community is located in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas. This setting and the time of his childhood at the turn of the 20th century had a tremendous influence on his life.
When he was 12 years old and attending the sixth grade, his father deserted his mother and their family of six (6) children. Since John was an older boy, he quit school and went to work to support his mother and her children. People in his community worked for survival, and a major industry was cutting trees and preparing lumber. This is the industry where he worked and learned a trade from those who were older and more experienced. At age 26, he married his sweetheart and companion forever, Florence S. Nickell. They had three children, two boys and a girl.
The pressure of his adult life led John to alcoholism. As a result he gained the reputation of being reckless and worthless. While working for the railroad and apparently being drunk, he fell from a moving train and had one of his legs run over by the train. At first, he was not expected to live. Later, he was not expected to ever walk again. He did, however, recover fully and returned to work cutting and processing lumber. Later in life, he stocked and managed railroad tie yards. After the birth of his first grandchild, John left his family for two weeks in order to quit drinking alcohol. After he returned, he became a model husband, father and grandfather.
John valued learning and education. He was self-taught and read constantly. His job required him to learn bookkeeping and accounting, and he was known for his ability to tally a column of figures. All three of his children graduated from high school, which was unusual in that community at that time. Likewise, his grandchildren completed high school and several have graduate degrees from college. There can be no greater tribute to John Marley than to establish a scholarship for individuals who, for whatever reason, could not finish high school in the traditional manner but returned later to complete a GED or high school diploma. This scholarship will enable these graduates to pursue a college education if that is their desire.
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