Marshall Formby
Encyclopedia
Marshall Clinton Formby, Jr. (April 12, 1911–December 27, 1984), was a Texas
attorney
, newspaper publisher, radio
executive, and a Democratic
politician
who served a term in the Texas State Senate from District 30
from 1941 to 1945. He was a defender of West Texas
interests and entitled a 1962 book, These Are My People. Formby was a maternal uncle
of current Republican
State Senator Robert L. Duncan
, an attorney from Lubbock
who holds the District 28
seat.
and school board member, in the Bethel community near rural
Como
in Hopkins County
in East Texas
. His mother was the former Rosa Mae Freeman (1882–1971)
When Marshall was five years of age, the family relocated to McAdoo
in Dickens County in West Texas. As a child, he was nicknamed "Potts" because he frequently played in an iron wash pot. Young Formby attended public schools in McAdoo through his junior year of high school. In 1928, he received his diploma from Spur High School
in Spur
, also in Dickens County.
In 1932, Formby received a Bachelor of Arts
in government
from Texas Tech University
in Lubbock. While in college, he worked as a regional correspondent for several newspapers and was a student editor of The Daily Toreador
After college, he briefly owned and operated a drug store in McAdoo. In 1936, worked briefly as a police reporter for the Tribune in Miami
, Florida
.
es and brought Dickens County on a cash basis for the first time in some fifteen years. During his last year as county judge, Formby was president of the West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association."He loved people and politics. He was for the little guy," said nephew and business partner Clint Formby.
In 1937, Judge Formby received a Master of Arts
in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin
. While at UT, he was a correspondent covering the Texas State Legislature for the Amarillo Times in Amarillo
.
Soon a state senator, his legislative service was interrupted by World War II
, in which he served in Europe
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was discharged as a captain. Formby married the former Sharleen Wells (born September 30, 1918), later Sharleen Rhoads of Midland
after Formby's death. The couple, who met in Austin
, had two children, Frances Formby Seales of Lubbock (born 1955) and David W. Formby (born 1957) of Plainview, and two grandchildren. A native of Barberton
, Ohio
, Sharleen graduated as an English
major from a junior college
. She married Formby on September 8, 1946, in Seale
, Alabama
. (Ironically, their daughter married a man named "Seales".) Sharleen taught at the Army War College in Washington, D.C.
, and later attended the University of Texas Graduate School, where she studied radio communication. In August 1947, the Formbys moved to Plainview.
For a time he operated the weekly Aspermont Star in Aspermont
in Stonewall County in West Texas and later the Plainview Tribune. In the late 1940s, he pursued his Juris Doctor
degree, which he received in 1951 from Baylor University
in Waco
, Texas.
After his admission to the bar in 1952, Formby returned to Plainview to join the firm of LaFont and Tudor, founded by Judge Harold M. LaFont and later known as LaFont, Formby, Hamilton, LaFont, and Hamilton In 1953, he was appointed to the Texas Highway Commission, since the Texas Transportation Commission, by Governor
Allan Shivers
. From 1957 to 1959, he was chairman of the commission and worked particularly to bring highway improvements to West Texas. During his time on the commission, he visited all but 3 of Texas's 254 counties.
Clint Formby
(born 1923), a radio broadcaster from Hereford
and a cousin of Senator Robert Duncan, described his uncle Marshall as a person who "swam upstream . . . and had his mind set on what he wanted to do." Duncan's mother was Formby's sister, the former Mae Robena Formby (1921–2009), who was named by Marshall Formby and his brother, John C. Formby (1902–1989), Clint's father. Clint Formby's wife, the former Margaret Clark
, was the founder of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
, which began in Hereford and was subsequently relocated to Fort Worth
.
He owned or co-owned radio stations KPAN-AM&FM
in Hereford, KFLD in Floydada
, KTVE in Tulia
, KSML in Seminole
, KACT (AM)
in Andrews
, and KLVT
in Levelland
in Hockley County. KPAN had first been considered for establishment in Canyon
in Randall County south of Amarillo. It bills itself as "the only radio station in the world that gives a hoot about Hereford, Texas". By the middle 1950's, Clint Formby had become a partner in the station, and later the sole owner of KPAN and other outlets. Known for his "Old Philosopher" program, Clint Formby still works at the station with his son, Larry "Chip" Formby (born 1953), and grandsons, Jonathan and Lane Formby.
From 1967 to 1971, he was a member of the Texas Tech regents under appointment of Governor
John B. Connally, Jr. In 1962, Formby had been among the intraparty rivals defeated by Connally for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination
. Time
termed Formby "a conservative" in the primary contest but did not elaborate on what were his slim chances of winning the nomination. The other contestants were sitting Governor Marion Price Daniel, Sr.
, who sought an unprecedented fourth two-year term; Don Yarborough
, a liberal lawyer and supporter of organized labor from Houston
; former Attorney General
Will Wilson
, later a Republican convert, and retired Army General
Edwin A. Walker, known for his staunch anti-communism
. Connally went on to defeat the Republican Jack Cox
, himself a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives
and an oil-equipment executive from Houston. Connally served three two-year terms as governor from 1963 to 1969.
Church there, a member of the advisory council of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
in Fort Worth
, and served on the public relations board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas
. He was active in Rotary International
and the Masonic lodge
. He was the president of the Texas Tech Ex-Students Association. While serving on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
, Formby made the recommendation to rename "Texas Technological College" as Texas Tech University.
The Marshall Formby State Jail in Plainview is named in his honor.Interstate 27
, which connects Lubbock with Amarillo but does not extend north to Interstate 40
or south to Interstate 20
, was in 2005 named the Marshall Formby Memorial Highway, under a state Senate bill introduced by Formby's nephew Robert Duncan. There is also a Marshall Formby Foundation in Plainview. In 1997, the auditorium at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections at Texas Tech, where Formby's papers are housed, was named in his honor. In 2005, Formby was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Texas Broadcasters Association.
The historical plaque at Formby's grave in McAdoo says that he "exemplifies the hard working, never say quit character of West Texans whom he so vividly portrayed in . . . These Are My People (1962). . .in politics, in business, and in community affairs. Formby represented the small town, rural character of Depression
-era Texas west of the one hundredth meridian
, a place where it seldom rained, the wind always seemed to blow, and settlers met obstacles head on with a gritty spirit and a will to succeed."
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, newspaper publisher, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
executive, and a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who served a term in the Texas State Senate from District 30
Texas Senate, District 30
District 30 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves all of Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Shackelford, Stephens, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise and Young counties, and portions of Collin and Denton counties in the U.S....
from 1941 to 1945. He was a defender of West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
interests and entitled a 1962 book, These Are My People. Formby was a maternal uncle
Uncle
An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
of current Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
State Senator Robert L. Duncan
Robert L. Duncan
Robert Lloyd Duncan is a Republican member of the Texas Senate from the 28th District, centered on Lubbock. First elected to the Senate in a 1996 special election, Duncan had previously served in the Texas House of Representatives from District 84 from 1989 to 1993.-Background:Duncan is the only...
, an attorney from Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
who holds the District 28
Texas Senate, District 28
District 28 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves Armstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Coke, Collingsworth, Concho, Cottle, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Donley, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hale, Hall, Hardeman, Haskell, Hockley, Irion, Jones, Kent,...
seat.
Early years and education
Formby was born in the same house as his father, Marshall Formby, Sr. (1877–1957), a farmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and school board member, in the Bethel community near rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Como
Como, Texas
Como is a town in Hopkins County, Texas, United States. The population was 621 at the 2000 census.Texas politician Marshall Formby was born in Como in 1911...
in Hopkins County
Hopkins County, Texas
*Brashear*Dike*Como*Cumby*Gafford*Pickton*Saltillo*Sulphur Bluff*Sulphur Springs*Tira-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Hopkins County, Texas-External links:*...
in East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
. His mother was the former Rosa Mae Freeman (1882–1971)
When Marshall was five years of age, the family relocated to McAdoo
McAdoo, Texas
McAdoo is an unincorporated community in northwestern Dickens County, Texas, United States.McAdoo is named for the former United States Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo, son-in-law of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson....
in Dickens County in West Texas. As a child, he was nicknamed "Potts" because he frequently played in an iron wash pot. Young Formby attended public schools in McAdoo through his junior year of high school. In 1928, he received his diploma from Spur High School
Spur Independent School District
Spur Independent School District is a public school district based in Spur, Texas .In addition to Spur, the district also serves the community of McAdoo and a portion of Dickens, as well as rural areas in western and southern Dickens County...
in Spur
Spur, Texas
Spur is a city in Dickens County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,088.On October 9, 2009, Spur celebrated its centennial with the dedication of a Giant Spur sculpture. The Giant Spur was built by local welder John Grusendorf. The event, sponsored...
, also in Dickens County.
In 1932, Formby received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
in Lubbock. While in college, he worked as a regional correspondent for several newspapers and was a student editor of The Daily Toreador
The Daily Toreador
The Daily Toreador is the student newspaper of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The newspaper started in 1925 after the founding of Texas Technological College in 1923. It was originally called The Toreador to reflect the Spanish Renaissance architectural of the campus's buildings...
After college, he briefly owned and operated a drug store in McAdoo. In 1936, worked briefly as a police reporter for the Tribune in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Entering politics
Returning to McAdoo specifically to run for office, he became at twenty-five the youngest county judge in Texas. He worked to reduce property taxProperty tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es and brought Dickens County on a cash basis for the first time in some fifteen years. During his last year as county judge, Formby was president of the West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association."He loved people and politics. He was for the little guy," said nephew and business partner Clint Formby.
In 1937, Judge Formby received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. While at UT, he was a correspondent covering the Texas State Legislature for the Amarillo Times in Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
.
Soon a state senator, his legislative service was interrupted by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in which he served in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was discharged as a captain. Formby married the former Sharleen Wells (born September 30, 1918), later Sharleen Rhoads of Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
after Formby's death. The couple, who met in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, had two children, Frances Formby Seales of Lubbock (born 1955) and David W. Formby (born 1957) of Plainview, and two grandchildren. A native of Barberton
Barberton, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,899 people, 11,523 households, and 7,443 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,095.2 people per square mile . There were 12,163 housing units at an average density of 1,349.4 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Sharleen graduated as an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
major from a junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
. She married Formby on September 8, 1946, in Seale
Seale, Alabama
Seale is an unincorporated community in Russell County, Alabama, United States. The county seat from 1868-1935, and is current home to the counties High and Middle Schools. One of Alabama's oldest buildings, the Russell County courthouse also is located in the city. -References:...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. (Ironically, their daughter married a man named "Seales".) Sharleen taught at the Army War College in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and later attended the University of Texas Graduate School, where she studied radio communication. In August 1947, the Formbys moved to Plainview.
For a time he operated the weekly Aspermont Star in Aspermont
Aspermont, Texas
Aspermont is a town in and the county seat of Stonewall County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census. Aspermont means "rough mountain" in Latin....
in Stonewall County in West Texas and later the Plainview Tribune. In the late 1940s, he pursued his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree, which he received in 1951 from Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Texas.
After his admission to the bar in 1952, Formby returned to Plainview to join the firm of LaFont and Tudor, founded by Judge Harold M. LaFont and later known as LaFont, Formby, Hamilton, LaFont, and Hamilton In 1953, he was appointed to the Texas Highway Commission, since the Texas Transportation Commission, by Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
Allan Shivers
Allan Shivers
Robert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the conservative faction of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s...
. From 1957 to 1959, he was chairman of the commission and worked particularly to bring highway improvements to West Texas. During his time on the commission, he visited all but 3 of Texas's 254 counties.
Clint Formby
Clint Formby
John Clinton Formby, known as Clint Formby , was a veteran radio broadcaster called the "Old Philosopher" based in the small city of Hereford, Texas, the seat of Deaf Smith County in the Texas Panhandle. His daily broadcast ran continuously on his KPAN AM & FM country-music station since October...
(born 1923), a radio broadcaster from Hereford
Hereford, Texas
Hereford is a city in Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,597 at the 2000 census. It is the only incorporated Hereford in the country. It is the county seat of Deaf Smith County....
and a cousin of Senator Robert Duncan, described his uncle Marshall as a person who "swam upstream . . . and had his mind set on what he wanted to do." Duncan's mother was Formby's sister, the former Mae Robena Formby (1921–2009), who was named by Marshall Formby and his brother, John C. Formby (1902–1989), Clint's father. Clint Formby's wife, the former Margaret Clark
Margaret Formby
Margaret Clark Formby was the daughter of southwest Texas ranchers who founded the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in the basement of the public library in Hereford in Deaf Smith County before she relocated the collection to Fort Worth.Formby was born to Fred and Mabel Clark in Van Horn...
, was the founder of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and association which honors women of the American West who have displayed courage or spirit and who have distinguished themselves while exemplifying the pioneer spirit...
, which began in Hereford and was subsequently relocated to Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
He owned or co-owned radio stations KPAN-AM&FM
KPAN-FM
KPAN-FM is a radio station broadcasting a country-music format. KPAN-FM is licensed to serve the community of Hereford, Texas, USA. The station is currently owned by KPAN Broadcasters....
in Hereford, KFLD in Floydada
Floydada, Texas
Floydada is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,038 at the 2010 census.-History:According to the Texas State Historical Association, the community of Floydada, originally named Floyd City, was established on 640 acres of land donated by James B....
, KTVE in Tulia
Tulia, Texas
Tulia is a city in, and county seat of, Swisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,117 at the 2000 census; in the 2005 census estimate, it had fallen to 4,714. The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, approximately two miles east Interstate 27...
, KSML in Seminole
Seminole, Texas
Seminole is a city in and the county seat of Gaines County in west Texas, United States. The population was 6,430 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of Country music singers Larry Gatlin and Tanya Tucker...
, KACT (AM)
KACT (AM)
KACT is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format.Licensed to Andrews, Texas, USA. The station is currently owned by Zia Broadcasting Company and features programing from ABC Radio .KACT-AM now airs talk radio, local and regional sports....
in Andrews
Andrews, Texas
Andrews is a city in and the county seat of Andrews County in the U.S. state of Texas within the West Texas region. The population was 10,448 in 2009. Along with Midland and Odessa, these cities form the Midland-Odessa Combined Statistical Area with a population of 241,316 in four counties...
, and KLVT
KLVT
KLVT is a radio station broadcasting a Real Country format licensed to Levelland, Texas, USA. The station is currently owned by High Plains Radio Network, llc and features programing from ABC Radio as well as local sports and NASCAR coverage....
in Levelland
Levelland, Texas
Levelland is a city in Hockley County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,542. It is the county seat of Hockley County. It is located on the Llano Estacado, west of Lubbock. Major industries include cotton farming and petroleum production...
in Hockley County. KPAN had first been considered for establishment in Canyon
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,875 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randall County. It is the home of West Texas A&M University and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is some twelve miles east of Canyon...
in Randall County south of Amarillo. It bills itself as "the only radio station in the world that gives a hoot about Hereford, Texas". By the middle 1950's, Clint Formby had become a partner in the station, and later the sole owner of KPAN and other outlets. Known for his "Old Philosopher" program, Clint Formby still works at the station with his son, Larry "Chip" Formby (born 1953), and grandsons, Jonathan and Lane Formby.
From 1967 to 1971, he was a member of the Texas Tech regents under appointment of Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
John B. Connally, Jr. In 1962, Formby had been among the intraparty rivals defeated by Connally for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
termed Formby "a conservative" in the primary contest but did not elaborate on what were his slim chances of winning the nomination. The other contestants were sitting Governor Marion Price Daniel, Sr.
Price Daniel
Marion Price Daniel, Sr. , was a Democratic U.S. Senator and the 38th Governor of the state of Texas. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to be a member of the National Security Council, Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and Assistant to the President for Federal-State...
, who sought an unprecedented fourth two-year term; Don Yarborough
Don Yarborough
Donald Howard Yarborough, known as Don Yarborough , was a liberal Democratic politician who was reportedly the first Southern politician to endorse the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yarborough, an attorney in Houston, Texas, ran for governor of Texas in 1962, 1964, and 1968...
, a liberal lawyer and supporter of organized labor from Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
; former Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will Reid Wilson, Sr. was a prominent Democratic politician in his native Texas best known for his service as attorney general of Texas from 1957-1963. In 1968, he joined the Republican Party to support the election of Richard M. Nixon as U.S. President. Nixon thereafter named Wilson an assistant...
, later a Republican convert, and retired Army General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Edwin A. Walker, known for his staunch anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
. Connally went on to defeat the Republican Jack Cox
Jack Cox (Texas)
Jack M. Cox was an oil equipment executive from Houston and the 1962 Republican gubernatorial nominee in the state of Texas.-Early years:...
, himself a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
and an oil-equipment executive from Houston. Connally served three two-year terms as governor from 1963 to 1969.
Death and legacy
Formby died in Plainview, his principal city of residence since 1947. He was a deacon of the First BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church there, a member of the advisory council of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, and served on the public relations board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas
Baptist General Convention of Texas
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state of Texas. The churches cooperating with the Baptist General Convention of Texas partner nationally and internationally with both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,...
. He was active in Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
and the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
. He was the president of the Texas Tech Ex-Students Association. While serving on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is an agency of the Texas state government that oversees all public post-secondary education in Texas. It is headquartered at 1200 East Anderson Lane in Austin....
, Formby made the recommendation to rename "Texas Technological College" as Texas Tech University.
The Marshall Formby State Jail in Plainview is named in his honor.Interstate 27
Interstate 27
Interstate 27 is an intrastate Interstate Highway, located entirely in the U.S. state of Texas, running north from Lubbock to Interstate 40 in Amarillo. These two cities are the only control cities on I-27; other cities and towns served by I-27 include New Deal, Abernathy, Hale Center, Plainview,...
, which connects Lubbock with Amarillo but does not extend north to Interstate 40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
or south to Interstate 20
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...
, was in 2005 named the Marshall Formby Memorial Highway, under a state Senate bill introduced by Formby's nephew Robert Duncan. There is also a Marshall Formby Foundation in Plainview. In 1997, the auditorium at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections at Texas Tech, where Formby's papers are housed, was named in his honor. In 2005, Formby was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Texas Broadcasters Association.
The historical plaque at Formby's grave in McAdoo says that he "exemplifies the hard working, never say quit character of West Texans whom he so vividly portrayed in . . . These Are My People (1962). . .in politics, in business, and in community affairs. Formby represented the small town, rural character of Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era Texas west of the one hundredth meridian
100th meridian west
The meridian 100° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
, a place where it seldom rained, the wind always seemed to blow, and settlers met obstacles head on with a gritty spirit and a will to succeed."