Memorial Celebration Held in Honor of Dr. John “J. D. ” Marshall

“John D. Marshall Scholarship Fund” to be set up and made available to Beach High School students pursuing a career in the medical field
A. E. Beach High Class of 1964 and friends
A. E. Beach High Class of 1964 and friends

On Saturday, August 13, 2022 Beach High School’s class of 1964 graduates and many others gathered at Bethlehem Baptist Church Banquet Hall for a memorial celebration to honor the late Dr. John “J.D” Marshall, Jr.

Dr. John D. Marshall, Jr., 74, a family-practice doctor in Americus for more than three decades, contracted COVID-19 from a patient, family members said. Marshall died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020 after spending 111 days on a ventilator, in Savannah, Ga.

Marshall’s brother, Charles “Yahvo” along with the BHS Class of ‘64 announced the “John D. Marshall Scholarship Fund” to be set up and made available to Beach High School students pursuing a career in the medical field, beginning later this school year.

Dr. John Marshall was not just a good doctor, he was also a community leader. He was the former president of the NAACP chapter in Americus, Ga. Marshall was an Air Force veteran, a one-time pharmaceutical salesman, and the publisher of a monthly newspaper, the Americus Sumter Observer, which covers the African-American community in the Southwest Georgia town.

The doctor’s friends and family had outstanding things to say about him and the impact he left “He was like a turtle, hard on the outside, soft on the inside, and willing to stick his neck out,” said Marshall’s brother Charles “Yahvo”. Dr. Mike Taylor, Ms. Eleanor Ginn, Civil Rights activist, Grover Thornton, Rev. Rosser, Mr. Eugene Edge of Americus, Ga, Savannah Chapter NAACP President Chad Mance, Coach Ronald Booker, Commissioners Larry “Gator” Rivers and Tanya Milton were in attendance to make comments on the life of Dr. John Marshall, Jr.

The new Dr. John D. Marshall Scholarship Fund committee is hoping to use the community to create new leaders and continue the legacy of Dr. John D.Marshall, Jr. To find out how you can contribute to the scholarship fund call Charles Heyward, 912.308.1809 or Ronald Booker, 912. 663.7944.

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