Barbara Thompson Stevenson Marshall

1933 - 2024

Barbara Thompson Stevenson Marshall
08/24/1933 - 01/09/2024
Mrs. Barbara Thompson Stevenson Marshall peacefully passed away at home in Manvel, Texas, after a lengthy illness. Barbara is a native Houstonian, born the fifth child of Henry Ray Thompson, Jr., and Beatrice Thompson on August 24, 1933. Her parents passed away at an early age due to Tuberculosis. After their death, Barbara and her four siblings went into foster care. She stayed in touch, and remarkably, the Thompsons were blessed to remain close during Barbara's lifetime.
While in foster care, Mrs. Mollie Taylor Stevenson Sr., a local ranch owner in Pierce Junction, Texas, on the outskirts of Houston, needed someone to tutor and assist with five young children. As a teenager, Barbara moved to Pierce Junction. Mollie and Ben Stevenson fell in love with Barbara and adopted her into the Stevenson family. She would later be known as one of the "six-pack."
Barbara knew the Lord at an early age. This love of the Lord would sustain her until death. She attended Houston Independent School District's Bruce Elementary and Wheatley High School, where she studied drama and entered competitions.
After graduating from Wheatley High School, Barbara enrolled in The Texas State University for Negroes (now known as Texas Southern University), where she majored in Speech and Drama. While attending Texas Southern University in her junior year, Barbara competed against contestants from all cotton-growing states in the "Spirit of Cotton" contest held in Memphis, Tennessee, and she won in 1952.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Drama from Texas Southern University, Barbara earned a Master of Speech Pathology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she was among the first African Americans to attend the university. After graduating from Northwestern University, she returned to live in Houston, Texas. Ms. Marshall applied for a job in the Houston Independent School District and became the first African American speech Correctionist to teach students with stuttering and fluency issues.
Ms. Barbara O'Cele Thompson Stevenson married Mr. Lawrence "Larry" Marshall on December 23, 1958. The Marshalls met while attending Texas Southern University. Mr. Marshall became Houston Independent School District's first African American Deputy Superintendent. The couple adopted their two children, Lauren Mollie Marshall and a son, Lawrence Gregory Marshall (Deceased).
On September 26, 1969, Barbara and six other illustrious women chartered the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. on the University of Houston Main Campus. Barbara also founded the Urban Theatre and became its Artistic Director in 1969. Her goal was to provide a space for urban playwrights, directors, technical staff, and actors to perform and for visual artists to display their art.
A civil rights advocate, Barbara has been a staunch supporter of Houston's SHAPE Community Center, its philosophy, advocacy in the Houston community, and Co-Founder, CEO, Executive Director, Deloyd T. Parker, Jr., since inception in 1969.
Barbara Thompson Stevenson Marshall's spirit will live on in each person touched in her ninety years. She is preceded to Eternal Life by Beatrice Thompson (birth mother), Henry Ray Thompson (birth father), Benjamin Franklin Stevenson (father), Mollie Taylor Stevenson (mother), siblings Helen Marie Thompson, Beatrice Thompson, Richard Thompson, Major William Stevenson Sr., Benjamin Franklin Stevenson Jr., Ben Taye Stevenson Choice, Julia Wyatt and her son, Lawrence Gregory Marshall, Sr.
Barbara leaves to cherish her memory a loving and devoted husband, Lawrence "Dooley" Marshall, daughter, Lauren Mollie Marshall, grandchildren Lawrence Gregory Marshall, Jr., Kaiya Symone McCray, and Lawrenzo Lamark Marshall, as well as goddaughters, godsons, nieces, nephews and a host of other family and friends.
Donations in remembrance of Barbara Thompson Stevenson Marshall can be made instead of flowers to Shape Community Center online at https://shape.org. Donations are also accepted at 3815 Live Oak Street, Houston, Texas 77004, and 3903 Almeda Road, Houston, TX 77004.
She will lie in state (Saturday) January 20, 2024, from 9:00-9:55 a.m. Funeral Service at 10:00 a.m. Both services will be held at Windsor Village U.M.C. 6011 W. Orem Dr. Houston, Texas 77085. Interment Houston Memorial Gardens