Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr.

Born in Hopkins County in east Texas, Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr., moved with his family to McAdoo when he was five years old and spent his adult life working for the betterment of this part of the state. Educated at Texas Technological College, the University of Texas, and Baylor University school of law, he applied his talents to business and public service through extensive west Texas farming interests, oil ventures, and radio, newspaper, and cable television enterprises. He served as Dickens County Judge from 1936 to 1940 and was elected to the Texas Senate, though his service as a U.S. Army captain in the European Theatre of World War II kept him away from the state capitol for much of his term. He later continued statewide public service as a governor-appointed member of the Texas Highway Commission from 1953 to 1959, including two years as chair, where he worked for the paving of farm-to-market roads and for implementation of the interstate highway system in Texas. A member of the Texas Tech board of regents, he also served twelve years on the state's college coordinating board. Active in the Baptist Church and numerous civic organizations, he received many awards and honors for service to his community, region, and state, and he died at his home in Plainview in 1984 and was buried in the McAdoo cemetery.

Texas · United States