John Jessup Marilla
John Jessup Marilla
Surry, VA
12.04.1930 - 12.24.2015
Birthplace: Surry, North Carolina
Served in the : Navy
John Jessup Marilla, 85, passed away Thursday, December
24, 2015 at his home in Surry, Virginia, following a brief
illness. John was born in Surry, North Carolina and spent his
childhood years in Chatham, Virginia. Upon graduating high school, he served 2 years in the U S Navy and
was stationed in Charleston, S.C. John's professional career was as a Federal Soil Conversation Specialist in
Surry County, until he retired in 1986. John served his community in many ways. He was as a 32-degree
Past Master of the Masons. He was the Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Surry County. He was the
Treasurer of the Surry County SPCA. John had two major passions for which he will be fondly remembered.
He believed everyone has a right to be gainfully employed, to have equal pay, equal treatment and enjoy
property ownership. He intervened and negotiated many real estate issues on behalf of Surry citizens leading
to their eventual ownership of land and a home. His passion did not end with people. He rescued many
injured and abandoned animals and took 20 plus dogs home to live out their lives in a secure and loving
environment. During the winter months you could find John at the Scotland ferry dock feeding geese and
seagulls and carrying injured animals and birds to the hospital for care. John is survived by his wife of 29
years, Carol; his brother, Arthur Marilla of Chatham, Virginia; his four adult children, Vicki, Donna, Brian and
Jessica as well as five grandchildren, Beth, Adam, Russell, Rachael and Dylan. A graveside service will be
held at 11:00 am Monday, December 28, 2015 at Oakwood Cemetery in Surry, Virginia with Rev. Ray
Rowland officiating. R.W. Baker &Co Funeral Home, Wakefield Chapel is serving the family. In lieu of flowers,
the family suggests donations be made to the Surry County SPCA, P.O. Box 96 Surry, VA 23883.
Condolences may be posted at www.rwbakerfh.com.
Cemetery
Oakwood Cemetery
Surry, VA
United States
Service
Monday, December 28, 2015 - 06:00am
Oakwood Cemetery
Surry, VA 23883
United States
Guestbook
Funeral Home
R.W. Baker & Co. Wakefield Chapel
11414 General Mahone Hwy
Wakefield, VA 23888
United States
Valerie Searles
Delgado
Thank you, John, for everything you did over the years, to help our local
SPCA thrive - We will miss you very much! Your passing is a great loss
to the community of Surry! My heartfelt condolences to the family...
Valerie Searles Delgado
Norman Parham
Donna, I hope you find peace in knowing that you have a very special
angel to watch over you and your family. God Bless you all. Norman
Norman Parham
Linda Blizzard Ellis
To the family of the late John Marilla:
I worked for the County of Surry for over 33 years. Mr. Marilla
was one of the first people I met. He was very interested about the
welfare of the citizens of Surry County. The staff enjoyed stories he
shared of childhood memories and his beautiful family. Continue to hold
on to the beautiful memories.Linda B. Ellis
Linda Blizzard Ellis
Liz Erfe-Howard
Carol, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I hope you can find peace
in knowing that John is resting with God.
Liz
Liz Erfe-Howard
Bob Watkins
Mrs. Marilla and family:
On behalf of Jefferson Lodge 65 we are so sorry for your loss. Brother
John Marilla was a great Mason, an inspiraton for our lodge and will be
missed. In fact, he kept our Masonic Lodge open with many dedicated
years of service.
Sincerely and fraternally, Bob Watkins
Bob Watkins
Rose Atkins
Stalnaker
My heart is with you as you celebrate the life of this good man today. I'm
so sorry I can't be there but know I love you all. Rose Atkins Stalnaker
Rose Atkins Stalnaker
Dina Lobo
Carol, you are in my thoughts and heart. John was a special
person and appreciated by everyone who knew him. I will always
remember the trouble he took to explain any question I had about land in
Surry County. His generosity, gentleness, and kindness will always be
remembered.
Dina Lobo
Rendy Powers
Mrs. Marilla and Family:
My name is Dorenda "Rendy" Owen Powers. My father was Oscar R.
Owen from Wakefield. Mr. Marilla set targets for my Daddy's ditching
machine business for many, many years. I had the honor of visiting
many of their job sites during the last years before my Daddy died in
March, 2013. I became very fond of Mr. Marilla and enjoyed watching he
and Daddy work together. They were quite a team! I remember the day
that Mr. Marilla got stuck in the mud and lost his boot. Daddy drove to
him with his John Deere Gator and got him out! They were something! I
will truly miss Mr. Marilla. You all will be in my prayers.
Rendy Powers
Jessica Travis
From Jessica Marilla Travis
A sincere thank you to all of the wonderful people who attended our
father's service. Seeing all of those kind faces made us all feel the
appreciation of our father from the Surry community. We are so grateful
to everyone who attended and everyone who sent us kind messages. I
have been asked to post the words I spoke at my father's service which
follow here.It has always been an honor to be John Marilla???s daughter
and it always will be.In this world where racial tensions and issues seem
so difficult to resolve, my father personified an antidote to all of that. My
father was not actually tolerant of racial or any other differences between
people, because to be tolerant of such differences would mean that he
saw them in any way. People were truly equal in his eyes. Our family
was raised with this example and we share those same indelible beliefs
as our Dad as a part of his legacy. I feel that he also affected others in
his path through this example as well. One way we all knew this is that
he would also lay anyone out equally! If they blocked progress they just
might meet the fury of a ???Marilla fit.???Dad???s commitment to aiding
the progress of other???s lives also continues as his legacy. So many
people in Surry have been helped by our father to own their property
and their homes because of some assistance from our father. He may
have surveyed their property to allow it to be bought or sold, verified a
perc test to be sure the land had proper drainage, searched for a deeded
easement to a property, helped to lay the drain tile in a yard or a
farmer???s field, or any number of other ways he helped people when
no easy answer other than to call John Marilla would do. I know that I
will need to ask him many questions from now on and not know where
else to go for the perfect guidance and I am sure that I will not be alone.
The knowledge that my father had is irreplaceable and - There is no App
for that.As we like to say in my family, ???John Marilla is the Man.???
He was a kind, honest, honorable, brave and strong man. He was a
loving and wonderful father and I love him and will miss him always. One
of the last things he said was, ???I???m going to go out in the
woods,??? and that is where I will find him.
Jessica Travis
Jessica Travis
Thank you so much for this sweet message Rendy Powers. My Dad truly
enjoyed every moment working with your father on those jobs and would
tell me stories about them. He told me about the day when his boot got
stuck in the mud and how your father rescued him from that sticky
situation. Thank you for sharing this with us. i love this picture that you
have here as well. Thank you sincerely, Jessica Marilla Travis
Jessica Travis