Marshall Eugene Earnest

Marshall E. Earnest, age 81 of Inverness, FL passed away June 30, 2023 under Vitas Hospice care. Marshall was born in Miami, FL on October 10, 1941 to the late Louis and Gertrude (Verney) Earnest and came to Citrus County in 1988 from Miramar, Fl (Broward County). When he was younger he worked as an insurance salesperson, he also had a job at Sear's working with fishing tackle. In 1969, he began a job in the postal service as a mail carrier. On January 30, 1988 he became post master in Inverness and received Postmaster of the Year two times in 1990 and 1991. He was awarded with a service award for his 23 years of service to the government of the United States given by the U.S. Postal Service, when he retired Oct 3, 1992 culminating his career as the Postmaster of Inverness, FL. That day will always be Marshall Earnest Day appointed by the mayor. Marshall retired from the U.S. Postal Service at 51 years of age and opened his own mail shop, Earnest Mail Consulting Corp where he specialized in postal automation. He had several successful offices in Inverness before selling his business in 2017. He was a loving husband and father, a caring neighbor, and a devoted friend and a driven businessman. He was an integral part of building up Inverness through the Citrus County Chamber, Inverness Business Leaders and various other organizations which he belonged to or was president of over the decades.

He loved the University of Miami! He loved to fish and held a world record for catching a fifty pound permit fish on a 15 pound test in 1971! He loved Jimmy Buffet and the Black Eyed Peas. He was an avid bowler. He always dressed nice and matched his outfits AND his shoes. He was always color coordinated! He did many of the home improvements in Miramar and enjoyed wood work and making gifts for people back then. He loved watching TMZ and keeping up with the celebs. His favorite color was red and he used to have the biggest airboat in Inverness, called Big Red. He also had a 53 Chevy that he enjoyed remodeling.

Left to cherish his memory are many! He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Theresa (Gamiotea) Earnest; his daughter, Elizabeth Warren and her husband Tim; and his two sisters: Joanie Selph (her daughter Stephanie Jarnol and their family) of St Augustine and Maggie Schmidt (and her son Jimmy Ingram and their family) of North Carolina. He was an astounding businessman who was very family oriented and will be deeply missed. Please raise a toast in remembrance as he would have rather been celebrated than mourned. In lieu of a formal funeral service, if you would like to make a donation to CASA, Hospice, or the pet shelter in his honor - he would have loved that. Thank you Marshall for your love and dedication to us all, we hope the fish are biting good up there!