Paul D. Marable, Jr.

Paul Davis Marable, Jr. August 27, 1921 - December 19, 2013 Paul Davis Marable, Jr. passed away Thursday, December 19, 2013. A celebration of his life will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 4, at First United Methodist Church, 4901 Cobbs Dr., Waco. Paul grew up in Clarksville, Texas and attended the University of Texas, graduating with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Immediately after graduation, he volunteered for the U.S. army where he was commissioned as 2nd Lt., field artillery, and assigned to the 90th Infantry Division. In June, 1944, while serving as an artillery forward observer in the Normandy campaign, he was captured and spent the next "255 Days" the title of a privately published memoir about his experiences in a POW camp in Poland until liberated by Zhukov's Red Army. In 1946, he married Betty Lou Lewis and began his career in the Waco Chamber of Commerce before becoming Manager of the Denison Chamber of Commerce. In 1951, he was recalled to active military duty and was posted to Japan as an artillery battery commander. When he returned, he joined the West Texas Chamber of Commerce in Abilene, eventually becoming its General Manager before returning to the Waco Chamber of Commerce in 1961, where he served as executive director. In 1976, he joined First Federal Savings and Loan as Executive Vice President, eventually becoming its President. During his career and retirement, Paul served in many leadership positions in Waco and the state, including as President of the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives, President of the Rotary Club of Waco, President of the Waco Symphony Association, Chairman of the Waco Chamber of Commerce, Director of the Waco Civic Chorus, Director of the Waco Industrial Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Methodist Home for Children in Waco, President of the Baylor-Waco Foundation, President of Inner-City Ministry, and Chairman of the Advisory Council for Baylor University Professional Development Center. He was a Director, Officer, Trustee, or Member of many other civic, educational, and service organizations, including the YWCA, the Board of Development of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, the Central Texas Rehabilitation Center, United Way, Caritas, and the Advisory Committee of Baylor's School of Education. He was instrumental in the establishing of MCC and was appointed a lifetime member of the Providence Health Center Foundation. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Betty Lewis Marable; four children, Betty Sue Flowers, Paul Davis Marable, III, Linda Ruth Murdock, and Robert Lewis Marable; ten grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren; a brother, Allen Marable; and a sister, Ann Priest. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Paul D. Marable, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund, McLennan Community College Foundation, 1400 College Drive, Waco, Texas 76708. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.