Marshall Waren would have been in awe knowing the church pews were filled and those in attendance were listening to Scripture passages, singing the hymns, and bowing their heads in prayer.
He was a believer in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and he was secure in his faith.
“Marshall loved the Lord,” Rev. Blake Benge said Saturday at a memorial service held at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, and just blocks away from where Marshall Waren grew up in the gray-frame home on Pilot Avenue.
His faith was steadfast.
His faith was without compromise.
Family and friends will tell you Marshall Waren heard God calling his name more than 20 years ago, and Marshall Waren wanted God to know he was listening.
“Here I am, Lord,” he wanted God to know. “Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. Here I am, Lord. I am here, Lord. I am here.”
Marshall Waren was passionate in his faith, and he wanted to share it with others by creating Bible studies.
“He called and said he had a desire for a men’s Bible study at his office,” Alan Terry said. “Twenty-some years later, it’s still going strong. We’d meet in offices, churches, homes, and restaurants. But the constant was Marshall. He was the teacher. He was the leader. He really enjoyed the studies of preparing a lesson. II was life-changing for Marshall. We’ll miss Marshall, but we rejoice he is home with his Savior.”
Fayetteville Born and Bred
Marshall Waren was Fayetteville born and bred. The first of two sons born to the late George and Helen Waren, he loved calling Fayetteville his hometown.
He had no tolerance for those who labeled this old city “Fayettenam” in the 1960s and 1970s, or later when it was referred to as “The Ville.” This is Fayetteville, and this was his hometown, and he was proud to let you know and in no uncertain terms.
He believed in this city. He believed in its people, and he wasn’t afraid to tell you so. When he saw a need, he was there. You will find his fingerprints from Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch helping homeless people, The CARE Clinic serving uninsured adults in need of medical and dental care, Connections of Cumberland County helping unhoused women and children, and YMCA of the Sandhills.
If you wanted to know something about Fayetteville, Marshall Waren was the source.
“Everybody knew Marshall knew everything,” son Hughes Waren Jr. said. “His nickname was 1-800-Marshall.”
Those in the pews Saturday couldn’t help but shake their heads in agreement.
After all, Marshall was Marshall, and we couldn’t help but smile in giving thought about his life along the way.
A True Entrepreneur
Marshall Waren graduated from old Fayetteville High School in 1967, where he was a standout golfer with an eye on Sandee Yarborough, who would become his wife and the wind beneath his wings.
He became an insurance executive with the help of late insurance mentors Ace Parker and Harvey Oliver, eventually founding Planned Investment Company and Employee Benefit Systems. He retired in 2001.
But Marshall Waren had an entrepreneurial spirit and founded CityView Magazine in 2006, where the monthly lifestyle publication gave him a platform to tell stories of what was the best of Fayetteville.
“He loved Fayetteville, and he wanted to have a positive view with CityView he could spread around Fayetteville,” wife Sandee Waren said this week. “Marshall said, ‘We really need it.’ He loved Fayetteville and he wanted a positive outlook.”
He hired executive editors like Catherine Pritchard, Allison Williams, Rebekah Sanderlin, Kelly Twedell, and Erin Pesut, and correspondents such as Bill McFadyen and Mary Zahran to be a part of the glossy, monthly publication. And Waren told his own stories as its publisher from columns on Fayetteville families to how to grill hamburgers to a remembrance of his late mother, whom he described as “the mayor of Pilot Avenue.”
He could write with wit.
He could write with a curiosity about people, places and things, which caught his fancy.
He could write with heart.
“Marshall wanted to show people the good things and beautiful things about Fayetteville,” said Pritchard, who was the magazine editor from September 2017 to October 2019. “Sandee was an integral part of the vision. I really enjoyed my time there. It was a talented and fun group of people.”
Annette Winter has been with CityView Magazine for 15 years as art director and graphic designer.
“Marshall focused on highlighting positive stories about Fayetteville and its community and kept a strong team through changing times,” she said this week. “He gave me a chance in 2011 and supported me working remotely while I was caring for my mother after her stroke. In my interactions with him, he was supportive, and that opportunity had a lasting impact on me for which I’m grateful.”
Tony Chavonne purchased the magazine in 2020, and later developed CityView’s online presence and email newsletter. The company is now owned by The Assembly, which is headquartered in Durham.
“He was a true entrepreneur,” said Chavonne, a former mayor and general manager of Fayetteville Publishing Co. “Founding CityView Magazine, with its focus on good news and improving the quality of life in our community, was one of his greatest and most impactful ideas.”
The magazine remained dear to Marshall Waren.
He never stopped believing in the positive stories of Fayetteville.
‘He Believed in Me’
And all who knew him will tell you, Marshall Waren never wavered in his belief of his Lord and Savior, and bringing disciples to the Word of God.
“During a very difficult period in my life, I was blessed to have many people pulling for me and praying for me,” Jimmy Maher said after Saturday’s service. “Marshall was someone who could cut me down with the truth and then lift me back up with encouragement. He spoke the truth in love to me in a way that always rocked me to my core. He knew and believed that Jesus could and would change me if only I would pursue Him and get out of my own way. He loved and believed in me at a time I didn’t love or believe in myself. He was a true friend to me.”
And others, he said.
“Marshall reached a lot of folks through different Bible studies he started,” Maher said. “Guys who maybe went to church but didn’t know the Bible. Marshall forced many of us to go deeper and to always be studying the Word. There is a large group of men in Fayetteville who are followers of Christ and now are better husbands, better fathers and better friends, because Marshall encouraged them to go deeper in the Word, and when the gospel fills you up, it improves every aspect of your life and every relationship in your life.
“Marshall was all Southern—large, loud, and opinionated. You always knew where he stood on a subject and where you stood with him. He was honest, generous, funny and very tender-hearted. He got emotional at the drop of a dime, especially over his grandchildren. Marshall was flawed like every man, but unlike most men, he recognized his flaws and knew without Christ he was a wretch.
“He had a profound impact on many lives,” Maher said. “I will miss him.”
‘He Was Human’
Marshall Waren knew life’s peaks and he knew life’s valleys.
The death of his son—Robert Lyon “Bob” Waren at age 31 after a long and courageous battle with kidney cancer on March 2, 2006—broke his heart, and a mother’s heart, too. Marshall Waren delivered a heartfelt eulogy to his son in this church.
His son’s death took a toll on his life, but not on Marshall Waren’s faith.
There would be other valleys.
“He was human,” Hughes Waren said about his father. “He made some mistakes. He had his flaws.”
But Marshall Waren never wavered in his faith that his Lord was his shepherd.
“His illness came quick,” Hughes Waren said. “We had a prayer. He said when Jesus is ready, he was ready.”
Marshall Hughes Waren died April 6.
He was 76.
“Marshall was a man of God who trusted Jesus Christ with his life,” Rev. Sandy Saunders said. “Marshall today is soaring with the eagles and the angels. No more pain. Marshall has been completely healed. I remember when Marshall gave his life to Jesus Christ, and Marshall was a new man. We have lost Marshall, but we know where he is. He is with Jesus. He was walking with him in the valley of the shadow of death, and there was no fear. He said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the light.’
“Marshall had a personal relationship with Jesus, and on Monday morning, Jesus sent the angels to get him. The angels said, ‘Marshall, your room is ready. It’s time for you to come home.’ The first face he will see is Jesus. The second he will see is Bob. What a great reunion it will be. And, Lord, whisper in his ear how much his family loved him.”
Epilogue
Marshall Waren would have reveled in this farewell with the sanctuary pews filled, the hymns of “Great Is They Faithfulness,” “Be Thou My Vision,” “He Lives,” and Mark Rice singing “The Lord’s Prayer.”
He would have loved hearing the Scriptures read by his grandsons, his love for his wife of 56 years and her love for him and knowing his faithfulness for his Lord and Savior was the centerpiece of this day.
Marshall Hughes Waren would have asked for nothing more, and he would be the first to tell us, “All is well with my soul.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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