Benny Bounds Marberry

Benny Bounds Marberry, age 79, died Wednesday evening, July 9, 2014 in Baptist Memorial Hospital, Desoto Center, Southaven, MS. The family invites friends to a memorial visitation from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, 2014 in Wells Funeral Home. Benny Marberry was born on May 19, 1935 in Crowder, Mississippi to the late Leslie Marberry and Ruth Bounds Marberry. He grew up in South Memphis with his older brother, Edwin, and his younger brother, Robert. As a teenager, he worked at the neighborhood pharmacy to help support his family. He graduated from South Side High School in Memphis, Tennessee and worked for Sears briefly, before joining the Army. While he served his country in Germany, he competed in a traveling sharpshooting team and won various awards for his excellent marksmanship. When Benny completed his service, he returned to the United States and worked as a credit investigator. He then moved to West Helena on the advice of his uncle and namesake, who was the West Helena Chief of Police. He gained employment at Mohawk Tires. It was there that Benny met and married the love of his life, Maxine Williams. They had two sons, Michael Marberry and Robert Marberry. For the predominate part of his career, Benny worked as a manufacturing supervisor for Pirelli-Armstrong, which required him to relocate at different times to Des Moines, Iowa and Louisville, Kentucky before settling in Nashville, Tennessee. Retirement brought him back full circle to Mississippi. He and Maxine moved to Sardis, then Batesville, Mississippi to be closer to his brother, Robert, and elderly aunts, now of blessed memory. He took great pride in the achievements of his grandchildren: Michael, Allison, Leslie, Nathan, Sarah, and Robert. Benny possessed an acutely active mind. He was a voracious reader of fiction and nonfiction alike and was known for the quirk of always having to read the last page first. He took great pleasure in spending time at the Batesville Public Library, deliberating over what to read next. Benny’s restless spirit lent itself to daredevilry and adventure. He was a commercial pilot, as well as a crop duster. During his years flying, he walked away from two separate crop-dusting crashes. He loved to skydive as well and did so for many years, until he had a skydiving accident that fractured his back. He often used a motorcycle as transportation. His ideal weekend was to take off on his motorcycle on Friday afternoon and drive to the beach, eat dinner by the ocean, spend the night in a motel and return home the following day. Benny was a charismatic man with a big bass voice that could fill any room with its resonance. His black eyes burned with intelligence and twinkled with mischief. He loved to cheat at cards and win, but, more often than not, he would cheat at cards and still lose. Most of all, Benny loved spending time with friends, family, and strangers and swapping stories. He had a keen ear for inflection in dialogue and a wicked sense of humor. He treasured his coffee-drinking buddies, with whom he could pass the time and shoot the breeze. Benny and his stories will be missed but never forgotten. Those loved ones who will continue his legacy include his wife, Marion Maxine Williams Marberry of Batesville, MS, 2 sons, Michael Leslie Marberry of Cottontown, TN and Robert Edwin Marberry of Nashville, TN; one brother, Robert David Marberry of Southaven, MS and 6 beloved grandchildren: Michael Odell Marberry, Allison Michele Marberry, Leslie Katherine Marberry, Nathan Parker Marberry, Sarah Elizabeth Marberry and Robert Benjamin Marberry. He was preceded in death by one brother, Edwin Leslie Marberry. The family requests that memorial donations be made to the Batesville Public Library, 206 Hwy 51 N., Batesville, MS 38606.