J. Kenneth (Ken) Marston, Sr.

J. Kenneth (Ken) Marston, Sr., a long time business and community leader, passed away peacefully at his home on June 11, 2024. He was 93.

A native of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, he was born February 15, 1931, the third son of Raymond Leslie Marston and Ola Mae James Marston. A private graveside service will be held in Lawrenceburg at a later date.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of sixty-five years, Peggy Armstrong Marston, his parents, his brothers Lilburn Marston and Edwin Marston, and a favorite sister, Gloria Marston Boyd.

Survivors include two daughters, Janey Marston Jackson and husband David of Germantown, Tennessee; Karen Marston Grommersch and husband Thomas of Waxhaw, North Carolina; and one son, James Kenneth (Chip) Marston, Jr. and wife, Debbie of Germantown, Tennessee; six grandchildren, including Meghan Jackson Sullivan, M.D., and husband John of Germantown, Tennessee; David Chase Jackson and wife Chess of Atlanta, Georgia; Leslie Anne Rieck and husband Mitch of Matthews, North Carolina, John Andrew Grommersch, and wife Kylie of Fort Mill, South Carolina; Kendall Marston Henderson and husband Carter of Nashville, Tennessee; Robin Marston Vaughn, and husband, Haynes of Memphis, Tennessee; and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Ken enjoyed an eventful twenty-six year career in the broadcasting industry, beginning at age 17 as a staff announcer and football and basketball play-by-play man in Pulaski, Tennessee, followed by on-air news, sports and entertainment at other radio stations across Tennessee. He then returned to Lawrenceburg to help build and lead WDXE, a member station of The Dixie Network, a radio and television operation covering six markets. In 1961, he was chosen to lead the network, which continued until the sale of the stations in 1973. Following the sale of the Dixie Network, he established the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters office in Nashville.

He was President of The Tennessee Association of Broadcasters in 1966, and he also served as Chairman of Governor Frank G. Clement’s Emergency Traffic Safety Committee. During the same period. the Tennessee Fraternal Order of Police named him “Tennessee’s Media Man of the Year.”

He was elected to the National Association of Broadcasters board of directors, Washington, D.C., representing radio broadcasters in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In that post he served as Chairman of the board’s public relations committee and was a founding member of The Radio Information Office.

Ken was always active in community activities, including serving as President of the Jackson YMCA, and board member for The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, Jackson Industrial Development Board, the Credit Bureau of Jackson, and Jackson Energy Authority serving as Board Chairman for eleven years. In 1975 he established Ken Marston & Associates, Inc., offering marketing and public relations strategies working with a broad range of clients. He eventually moved into a full time advisory role with his long time client, West Tennessee Healthcare.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to the Peggy and Ken Marston Endowment at West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, or a charity of the donor’s choice.