Marshall, John
MARSHALL, John Treutlen
It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of John Treutlen Marshall on July 22, 2021 in his Atlanta, GA home. After a long illness, John passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his loved ones.
John was born in Macon, GA on November 1, 1934. His early years were spent in Jacksonville, Florida until he moved to Cordele, GA where he spent his teenage years.
John attended Vanderbilt University on an ROTC Scholarship. He was an Honor Marine Graduate, a member of ODK, a National Leadership Honor Society, and was President of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, graduating cum laude in 1956 with a degree in Philosophy. John then served his country as a member of the United States Marine Corps from 1956-1958, where he attained the rank of Captain.
While stationed at the Marine base in Norfolk, VA, John met Kay, a public school music teacher in the Princess Ann County school system. After a short courtship, they married in May of 1959, had 62 years together, and ultimately had 4 children and 11 grandchildren.
After his time in the Marine Corps, John enrolled at Yale Law School and graduated in 1962. He moved to Atlanta, GA and joined the law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy as their first summer associate. Throughout his career, John credited his mentors at the firm for the professional values and skills they taught him.
John became a partner in the firm in 1967, where he remained for 47 years. As the firm grew larger and merged with the international firm of Bryan Cave, John served as President of the Atlanta Bar Association and was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
In 1996, the Supreme Court of Georgia appointed John as Chair of the Georgia State Bar's Standards of the Profession Committee. This committee, authorized by the Georgia Supreme Court, created the first year long, supervised mentoring program in the country for beginning lawyers. In 2010, it received the American Bar Association's Gambrell Professionalism Award for Outstanding Achievement. Now in its sixteenth year, this program has been instituted around the country. To honor John, the State Bar of Georgia created the John T. Marshall Model Mentor Award with John as the inaugural recipient.
One of John's great joys was teaching lawyers. He lectured widely on evidence, ethics and professional liability. Lawyers and judges would return each year to listen to John's annual lecture on Georgia evidence, which he peppered with jokes to enliven the instruction. In 1986, the American Bar Association presented him with the Harrison Tweed Special Merit Award for "developing a unique participatory format for teaching trial evidence to hundreds of practicing lawyers and judges at one time."
John received several awards during his career including the Anti-Defamation League Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award, the Georgia Bar's Distinguished Service Award and the Tradition of Excellence Award, the Eleventh Circuit's Professionalism Award, and Georgia State's Ben Johnson Award for Public Service.
John's interests focused around the family with trips to Hilton Head every year for 25 years, traveling with his wife to Europe, playing tennis at Cherokee Town & Country Club and reading books that covered a wide range of topics.
The family thanks all those, who with kindness and compassion, took care of John during his illness. They include Mattie Young, a special caregiver and friend, who has been with the family for 13 years as well as Alexander Vomo, Jasmine Thompson, and Yvonne Riley.
John is survived by his wife, Kay, their children and spouses, Allison Dredge (Tom), Rebecca Seibert (Craig), Mary Anne Severino (Roger), Paul Marshall (Shelley) and their 11 grandchildren: Morgan, Julie, Jennifer Stevens, Stephen, Kelly, Jake Severino, Ben, Kristen Seibert, Griffin, Reagan, and Ashley Marshall.
A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, August 5 at 2:00 PM in the Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3003 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30327. A reception will follow after the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, 54 Ellis Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, or Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3003 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.
