Warren "Ernie" Marshall

Funeral services for Ernie Marshall, 82, of Portales, will be held at 2:00 PM, Mon., Oct. 20, 2025 at the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ with Billy Clabaugh officiating, assisted by Rick Kenyon. Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Mike Terry, Kevin Breshears, Craig Breshears, Danny Victor, Junior Owens, jeff Terry, Randy Dunson and Kenny Whitecotton serving as pallbearers Colin Chandler, Johnny Lieb, Curtis Breshears, Jack Merrick, John Gentry, Kendall Terry, Dr. Praveen Chava and Dr. David Close have been named as honorary pallbearers.
Warren Ernest Marshall, known to everyone as Ernie was born Sept. 18, 1943, in Portales to the home of Mary Maxine (Wilhoit) and Warren Edwin Marshall and died Oct. 16, 2025 in Portales. Ernie was a 1961 graduate of Portales High School where he played center on the football team. On Aug. 17, 1962 in Clovis, he was married to the love of his life, Carolyn Stroud. At the time of their marriage Ernie was farming west of Portales. In 1971 he began working at the Swift Packing Plant in Clovis. In 1980 he was transferred to Chicago, but returned to Portales in 1982.
When he returned, he began doing maintenance work on rental properties for Otis Davis. Ernie continued to do that part time even after taking a position as head of maintenance for the Portales Public Schools in 1984. Ernie retired from the school system in 2005. In 2006 he began working as the Scale Man for Spra-Green Fertilizer. Ernie continued in that position until 2024.
Ernie was a man of many talents. He was a master gardener, raising among other things, beautiful dinner plate dahlias, and delicious black-eyed peas. His yard was immaculate, and was named Yard of the Month several times. In addition, he created beautiful lapidary jewelry featuring the stones he had polished. He also enjoyed woodworking. Another of his pass times was going to auctions, where he would purchase a grouping of several things to get the one piece he wanted. He would then resell the rest and make his money back. The things that were most important to Ernie were his family and his love for God. He was a faithful member of the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ where he at one time served as an elder.
He is survived by Carolyn, his wife of 63 years of their home; a son, Lane Marshall of Rio Rancho, NM; a daughter-in-law, Judy (Mrs. Brent Marshall) Brooks and her husband, Barry of Tijeras, NM; three grandchildren, Stephanie (Justin) Hale, Emily (Nathan) Brooks and Masey Marshall; three great-grandchildren, Macen Marshall, Ellie Mae Marshall and Lindsay Brooks; two brothers, Guy (Debbie) Marshall of Elkhart Lake, WI and John (Brenda) Marshall of Fort Cobb, OK; a sister, Mary (Gordon) Faircloth of Oakley, KS; a brother-in-law, Daniel Morris of Clovis, CA; and several close friends including Tammie and Dwayne Wilkerson, Rheanel Breshears, Tammy Lee and Tammy Chandler. Ernie was preceded in death by both of his parents, a sister, Lillian Morris who died in 2021, a son, Brent Marshall who died Aug. 14, 2005, a daughter, Jennifer Marshall who died in 1971, and a daughter-in-law, Serena (Mrs. Lane) Marshall who died July 28, 2021.
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