1,000-foot view

Terry Marshall, bba '63, has always had an elevated perspective

Terry Marshall

Growing up in Smith Center, Kansas, getting a college education was not inevitable for Terry Marshall, bba ’63. He is, to this day, the first and only college graduate in his family – his father managed a gas station, and his dad used to joke that they were so poor they couldn’t pay attention. But there were two things that Terry got hooked on that started making him look up from the family business toward points east.

The first was flying. His brother-in-law had a small airplane, and in high school Terry started learning to fly.

“Smith County may not have much, but it sure does have sky,” Terry mused.

The second was that Terry loved making deals.

“I’m a deals junkie – I can’t resist it,” Terry laughs. “Even from a young age, I’m just one of those people that always has to have something cooking.”

A high school teacher and coach was a Washburn University graduate, which made him aware of the college, and it so happened Terry knew a guy who knew a guy who could get him a job in Topeka. So, while a life of pumping gas had seemed a strong possibility, Terry decided to set his sights a little higher.

He was also able to get a scholarship from Washburn from the Garvey/Fink family that was a difference-maker for him. With the financial aid, job offer and the horizon of possibilities a college education promised, Terry decided to make the leap – he knew a good deal when he saw one.

He does admit he may have been spread a little thin once he enrolled at Washburn – his freshman year alone he had three jobs, was a full-time student, rushed Alpha Delta and got involved in a number of activities. After his sophomore year he’d even joined the US Naval Reserve and was chosen to receive pilot training. But he still didn’t have a clear view of where he wanted to go.

“What I did have,” he added, “is a business education like you wouldn’t believe. I did a bit of everything, and I’d learn principles in the classroom and then apply them in my work life. It was a living education.”

Terry and Phyllis Marshall

Nearing graduation, a fraternity brother introduced him to a local shoe company in need of a pilot. So, Terry took a job with Volume Shoe Corporation, which operated Payless Shoe Stores, as a company pilot tasked with flying the president and upper management of the company around to scope out potential store locations. He covered 36 different Western states that way and learned a lot about real estate.

Terry got married, had children and wound up moving to Arizona and transitioning to a job with Fry’s Food Stores – he would retire 21 years later as the Vice President of Real Estate, Construction and Facility Service, having been responsible for building 60 shopping centers and grocery stores. He also got his real estate license in 1973, started a brokerage firm and he and his wife also started a separate company developing and managing strip centers. After Fry’s and a few years of real estate dealing, he signed on with a commercial developer in Prescott Valley, Arizona – Fain Signature Group – for 12 years.

He is the sort of guy who has retired more than once. Although hanging it up the last time in 2021 after being named a Realtor Emeritus by the National Association of Realtors for a half century of continuous membership, having had three kids and seven grandchildren, and with 54 years of flying under his belt and more miles logged than he could even guess, he is pretty sure he is truly retired now. Probably.

When asked to what he attributes his high ascent, Terry insists he could always look down and see he was standing on the shoulders of others.

“Washburn was so key to how my career began and developed,” he said. “I was never afraid to try new things, because at every step I had Washburn people I could tap into. If I needed to do a business plan, I would talk to my marketing professor. When I started working on purchase contracts, I went to law alumni I knew. Many of my first jobs were simply from fraternity brothers or classmates connecting me with people.”

So, he felt he had a responsibility to give back and threw himself into it with characteristic vigor. He joined the Alumni Association board of directors in 2002 and Washburn University Foundation board of trustees in 2007. For years he organized alumni activities in Arizona, and in 2007 was honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the Alumni Association.

He and his wife endowed the Terry and Phyllis Marshall Business Scholarship and made a commitment that part of their estate will go to growing it even more. He tries to attend every year’s Whiting Society Dinner for donors who have remembered Washburn in their estate planning.

“I had help – were it not for the scholarship I received, I never would have gotten to Washburn. So once I was in a position to give back and help others, how could I not?”

He still remembers writing thank-you notes to the Garvey family for several years. Now on the other side, he cherishes every thank-you letter he’s ever received from the students he’s been able to help.

“I keep every one. It gives me goosebumps, reading them over, seeing that I was able to do for someone what the Garveys were able to do for me. If you have it in your power to have that kind of an impact on a person’s life, why wouldn’t you?”

So, what advice does he have for, in his words, other “ornery farm kids” like him coming to Washburn with high aspirations?

“Soak up every opportunity you can. These relationships and experiences pay off for you for the rest of your life. Don’t be afraid to stretch yourself.”

Keep your feet on the ground, but it’s okay to have your head in the clouds.

Take it from him.

Like Terry, you can make an estate gift that will create opportunities and inspire future generations of Washburn students. Contact Erin Aldridge at 785.670.4483 or PlannedGiving@wualumni.org to learn more.