I had just started my senior year at Lamar when Ben came along on August 29, 1971. We named him Ben Ferguson Marshall, after our good friend Dr. John Ben Eital, and the family who took me in and made it possible to go to college. Even though I didn’t do so well the first time I got it right the second time. Ben weighed in at 6 lb. 1 oz. He was a beautiful baby, and he has grown to be a wonderful son. He now has two beautiful daughters, Kendal and Kaleigh (first day of school 2008.) Kendall is now attending School in Utah and Kaleigh graduated from A&M 2026.
BEN KENDALL & KALEIGH KENDALL, KALEIGH BEN
This picture was taken in Paris France, from the Eiffel Tower in 2025.
After graduation, we moved back to Lake Jackson, Texas, where I worked for Dow Chemical during a strike that was underway. I had been a salaried employee before going back to college, and during the strike, all salaried employees were running the plants. The job only lasted a few months, but it was long enough for my position with the Texas Department of Corrections to open up.
I counseled inmates at the seven southern units of the Texas prison system in Brazoria County. Because the state job paid so little, I had to supplement my income, so I started singing and playing in clubs again. The first club was the Mariners Club at Bridge Harbor Marina, where I worked as a dock hand during High School. The second was the Holiday Inn in Lake Jackson, the third was the Lamb Lighter Club in Lake Jackson, and then I began playing at Riverside Country Club, where I performed for a total of eleven years.
I worked for the state for three years before realizing it was a dead‑end job with very little pay. I found a position with a pressure vessel manufacturer in Clute, Texas, doing purchasing and learning how to estimate the cost and design of pressure vessels and large storage tanks. That job revealed a skill I didn’t know I had.
Bryan came along during this time and on November 23, 1974, weighing in at 8 lb. 1 oz., he was a bundle of joy and love. Husbands were still not allowed in the birthing rooms, so I waited in the nervous father’s room and when they brought Bryan out to see me, it just popped out of me and I declared “Boo”! He had rolls on rolls and black hair when he was born. The Boo comment didn’t mean anything other than I was expecting another little blond headed Ben and here was this big baby. Bryan has also grown into a very wonderful son. The Boo stuck and he is affectionately known as Boo to this day. This is Bryan and his son Jack, and his daughter Keely. Jack graduated from High School this year 2026. Keely graduated from Texas A&M this year 2026. Bryan and Makenzi taken in March of 2026.
Bryan and Son Jack Bryan and Daughter Neely Bryan and Wife Makenzi
Kendall Neely & Kaleigh Ben Jack and Bryan
While I was working for the vessel fabrication company, Cece and I divorced. We had bought a house in Lake Jackson, but after the divorce, I moved into the garage apartment of one of my brother’s rental houses. Her parents bought her a house in Lake Jackson, and we sold the house on Dogwood Street.
I was still working for the fabrication company in Clute at that time, but the company closed due to poor management. I worked for Allied Fence Company for a while before being hired by Dow in 1981 as a Project Estimator, and I moved to Houston. I rented an apartment close to the Dow Center on West Belt, just three miles away. It took me ten minutes to get to work.