Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr.

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr. Born April 12, 1911.

Gone December 27, 1984. And between those two dates, a life that touched just about every corner of West Texas you can name. He came west young.

His family moved from Hopkins County all the way out to McAdoo when Marshall was five years old. Now McAdoo is not a place that overwhelms you with its size, but it has a way of shaping people who stick around long enough to let it. And Marshall Formby stuck.

He went to Spur High School, earned his diploma, then kept right on going. Texas Tech University. A degree in government.

That was just the beginning of his education, because the world itself had a few lessons left to deliver. World War II came calling, and Formby served. When he came home, he did not rest on whatever he had already built.

He went back to school and completed a law degree. Now here is where the story starts to spread out like a West Texas highway. Formby became a pioneer radio station owner in several West Texas towns.

Several. Not one. Not two.

He was out there building something in the airwaves, carrying voices across that wide open country at a time when that was still a new and remarkable thing to do. And still he was not finished. He served as a Texas Highway Commissioner.

He sat on the Texas Tech Board of Regents. He was active on civic boards, cultural boards, more boards than most people have weekday afternoons. Honors and awards came.

Numerous ones, the marker says, and you get the feeling that is an understatement. A boy from Hopkins County, transplanted to McAdoo at the age of five, who spent most of his life working for the betterment of West Texas. That is what the marker says.

Betterment. It is an old-fashioned word, and Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr. was exactly the kind of man it was made for.

What the marker says

Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr. (APR. 12, 1911 - DEC. 27, 1984) Marshall Formby moved with his family from Hopkins County, Texas, to McAdoo at the age of five and worked most of his life for the betterment of West Texas. A graduate of Spur High School, Formby earned a degree in government from Texas Tech University before serving in World War II. A pioneer radio station owner in several West Texas towns, he later completed a law degree. His public service continued as a Texas Highway Commissioner and member of the Texas Tech Board of Regents. Active on many civic and cultural boards, Formby received numerous honors and awards. Recorded - 2002