Clara Blackwell Marshall
Mrs. Clara Blackwell Marshall of Lockhart, TX passed away at her home on Saturday, October 5, 2024, just two months shy of her 107th birthday. Born in Sims, AR on December 12,1917, she was one of six siblings born to Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Blackwell. After losing two of her sisters during her childhood, she remained extremely close to her sister Lois and brothers Hollis and Howard throughout the remainder of their lives. Choosing to pursue a lifelong passion for knowledge, Clara, or Claire as she chose to go by later in her life, broke the traditions of the time to become a teacher and focus solely on her career as opposed to finding a husband to settle down with immediately. She attended John Tarleton Junior College, North Texas State Teachers College, Howard Payne College, and Daniel Baker College in pursuit of both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in English and Speech. She began her career in 1938 teaching at Kelly Country School which was a one-room schoolhouse. She later worked at Goldthwaite Grammar and High Schools, Coleman High School, and eventually landed at Kingsville High School where she taught for 23 years. Ultimately she would teach for a total of 34 years. In addition to teaching, she also co-led the school’s prose and poetry teams to several undefeated years at the State UIL competition. She championed the right for every student to participate and to be fairly considered regardless of their background. She sought out students who were willing to put in the effort to go the extra mile and she was unwavering in her support of them.
What Claire did not expect at the age of 52 was to find her person and fall wildly in love. In 1969 she met Oliver Lafayette Marshall of Dale, TX who would turn out to be the love of her life. They would marry in 1971 and several years later they would begin the process of building their dream home in Lockhart, TX just six miles from where Oliver, or Red as he preferred to be called, grew up. In 1977 their home was completed, and they would settle there for five very happy years before Red’s untimely passing in 1982 from cancer.
Although they never had any children of their own, Claire was devoted to her many nieces and nephews and was always eager for the opportunity to take a trip to visit one of them. She spent a good deal of time both before and after her marriage traveling the world with her siblings and their children and she was always eager to learn about new places. She took her job as a doting Aunt very seriously and, especially in her later years, spent a good deal of time spoiling her great-great nieces every chance she got. She was a devoted fan of the San Antonio Spurs, and as anyone who knew her can tell you, she was an avid follower of the NBA as a whole. She knew exactly which players were on the injury roster and whose shooting percentage was suffering uncharacteristically at any point during the season. If she missed a game for some reason, she would immediately call up someone with access to a computer to get the scores for her so she didn’t miss anything important.
She is predeceased by her parents Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Blackwell and her siblings Lena and Bertha Blackwell, Lois Hudson (Hud), Hollis Blackwell (Hartal), and Howard Blackwell (Posie) as well as her beloved Red; her nieces Peggy Blackwell and Betty Hoffman (Rod) and her nephew Ray Hudson (Ginny). She is survived by many great nieces and nephews as well as great-great nieces and nephews. There will be a graveside service on Thursday, October 10th at 10:00am at Bunton Cemetery in Dale, TX. In lieu of flowers, she asked that contributions be made to the American Cancer Society in her name. She was a force to be reckoned with, and she will be dearly missed by all who knew her. Arrangements are under the care and guidance of McCurdy Funeral Home.
