NEW LYME TWP., Ohio — Lester C. Marrison, 67, Day Road, New Lyme Twp., died June 21, 2010, at his home after recently being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He was born July 29, 1942, in New Lyme Township, the son of Levi E. and Clara E. (Viton) Marrison, and has lived in New Lyme Township all of his life.
He was in the last graduating class in 1960 from New Lyme Deming High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from The Ohio State University.
He was married to Ann L. Owen Dec. 27, 1964 in Edinburg, Ohio. They own and operate the Marrison Dairy Farm.
Mr. Marrison served on the Pymatuning Valley Board of Education for 12 years and on the Ashtabula County Education Service Board and Ashtabula County Joint Vocational Board of Education for the past 15 years, serving all the boards as either president or vice president for many of those 27 years.
He was a member of the Ohio School Board Association where he was serving on the state board of trustees, formerly serving on the state executive committee and past president of the northeast region. In 2003, he was named to the “All Ohio School Board”.
He was also a member of the National School Board Association where he received the Certificate of Distinguished Service Award for 2009, one of only five people in Ohio to receive the award.
Mr. Marrison also taught vocational agriculture for two years at Grand Valley High School.
He has been a member of the Country Neighbor Board for 22 years, serving as president the past 15 years. He also served on the Partnership for Education in Ashtabula County (PEAC) board and is a member of the Jefferson United Methodist Church.
A former FFA’er, he served as a 4-H adviser more than 20 years and was a member of the former New Lyme Grange. He is a member of the Ashtabula County and Ohio Farm Bureaus, receiving the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award; the Ashtabula County, Ohio and national Holstein associations; was on the state board of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association; and received the Ashtabula County Dairy Farm Family of the Year Award in 2008. He is also the recipient of an honorary Ohio and Pymatuning Valley State FFA degree.
He has been a field inspector for Ohio Seed Improvement Association for 40 years and was a dealer for Northrup King-Syngenta Seeds. He won numerous grand champion and reserve champion silage awards at the Ashtabula County Fair.
He is survived by his wife, Ann; three children, Denise A. Hobbs of Washington Court House, David L. Marrison of Jefferson; and Diane R. McDaniel of Mechanicsburg; four grandchildren; step-mother, Ida Mae Marrison of Ashtabula; two brothers of New Lyme Twp.; three step-sisters, Marcia Viglione of Tustin, Calif., Nancy Louden of Kingsville Township, and Judy Eager of Ashtabula Township; several nieces, nephews and cousins and a special member of the farm family, Kevin Wolf.
He was preceded in death by his father, Levi in 1996 and his mother, Clara in 1965.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 3, at 11 a.m. at the Jefferson United Methodist Church, 125 E. Jefferson St., Jefferson, with the Rev. Meredith Coleman officiating.
Burial will be in Brownville Cemetery.
Calling hours will be held Friday from 3-8 p.m. at the Fleming and Billman Funeral Home, 49 W. Jefferson St., Jefferson.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial contributions be directed to the Lester C. Marrison Scholarship Fund at the ACJVS, 1565 St. Rt. 167, Jefferson, OH 44047 or the Country Neighbor Program, P.O. Box 212, Orwell, OH 44076.
Guest register book and obituary on-line at fleming-billman.com.
