Suzanne Marshall, 73: Fiercely loyal to Atlanta and its brands

Suzanne Marshall was none too happy to learn the Braves would be moving to Cobb County in 2017.

“She felt the Braves belonged in Atlanta,” said her youngest son, Scott Marshall of Tucker.

It’s where Suzanne Marshall belonged too. She was fiercely protective of the city where she was born, even refusing to allow her children to drink a Pepsi, said her eldest son, Jeff Marshall of Watkinsville.

“Only Coca-Cola for us,” he said. “And if we were going to fly anywhere it better be on Delta.”

Suzanne Marshall died Sunday at her home after a yearlong battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. She was 73. Marshall’s memorial service was held Wednesday at Chapel of John’s Creek Baptist Church, with Flanigan Funeral Home and Crematory in charge of arrangements.

Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, attacks motor neurons, cells that control the muscles. Marshall was diagnosed with ALS last year, just days before Christmas. The disease left Marshall unable to communicate verbally, which was difficult for the garrulous former secretary and mother of four.

“She was very stoic about it,” her youngest son said. “She didn’t want to live like this, but she wasn’t ready to die, either.”

Marshall raised four children on her own and, even though her money and time were spread thin, she never missed a game or recital, said her youngest son.

“She did it all on a secretary’s salary,” Scott Marshall said. “There were a lot of times she had to do without.”

But she always made sure others didn’t, said her sons, especially over the holidays.

“We’d look around the table at Thanksgiving and inevitably see a stranger,” Jeff Marshall said. “She’d see someone at the Waffle House who didn’t have anywhere to go, she’d invite them over. She didn’t know a stranger.”

Marshall did know heartache, however. Losing her two daughters at an early age was difficult, but her oldest son said she maintained her sense of purpose.

“She was a spark in people’s lives,” he said. “People were really drawn to her.”

She leaves behind a lifetime of lessons for her family.

“Mom was resourceful,” Scott Marshall said. “She was never one to call a repairman.”

As a single parent she was forced to be both a mother and father, say her sons.

“She wanted me to play sports,” Jeff Marshall said. Unfamiliar with the finer points of football, she turned instead to the encyclopedia.