Lorry L. Marshall

Lorry Linn Marshall, 74, passed away on August 20, 2026 in Kearney, NE with his daughters at his side. It is with heavy hearts & deep gratitude for a life well lived that his family announces his passing. Born on November 24, 1951 in Kearney NE, Lorry spent his life embodying the values of the American West - hard work, integrity, faith & loyalty to his family & friends. A lifelong lover of rodeo, he felt most at home working with horses, helping neighbors brand cattle, attending horse sales, sharing stories of all things rodeo with anyone willing to listen & enjoying the wide open sky. He could rattle off the names of the bull riders & bulls at every major event including the NFR in Las Vegas. He was part of the high school rodeo scene in the earliest years, driving himself many miles just as quick as he turned 16. He broke a few horses & was a bull rider until a knee injury forced new plans. He was offered a college scholarship to rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. Shortly after high school, he worked as a gate cutter at Lexington Livestock Market & brand inspector in Alliance, NE. Lorry attended Missouri Auctioneer School in Kansas City, MO & later moved up to Sargent NE where he was part owner of the Sargent Livestock & Commission Co. With his quick wit, sharp eye, and unmistakable auctioneer’s cadence, he could keep a sale moving and a crowd engaged. He also had the bird's eye view as a rodeo announcer at the local rodeos with his charismatic voice. He owned a team of Persian horses named Duke & Queenie. At Christmas time, he loved giving his daughters & neighbors sleigh rides in the snow. Lorry's other love were his dogs & throughout his life there was always a dog at his side. To those who knew him, Lorry was more than a rodeo enthusiast. Lorry married Marlene on December 24, 1971 & started their family soon after. Marlene was his high school sweetheart for 53 years. Being a father, grandfather, son, brother & friend was always his greatest accomplishment. He loved lending a hand & facing life's challenges with courage & determination. His steady presence, quick wit & generous spirit left a lasting impression on all who knew him. Lorry was resourceful in so many ways & spent a number of years at the kitchen table late at night with graph paper & a protractor thinking about & designing a tree saw attachment. After many years & hours of design, he finally got his inventions trademarked & patented. That was officially the birth of The Marshall Saw, which is still in production today in Oklahoma. Lorry & his family were living in Sargent NE at the time, at the edge of the sandhills & rolling terrain & he saw a need for land management to keep the cedar tree population down so the pastures stayed useful for grazing cattle & horses. Lorry & Marlene moved to Hastings, NE after their girls graduated high school to engineer & manufacture The Marshall Saw for many years until he was 55. Everything was self taught including running the lasers, lathes, welding & actually running the equipment to demonstrate at trade shows. He traveled thousands of miles delivering & going to showcases. His furthest trip was a flight to Australia to demo The Marshall Saw. He had one of the most unique minds with no formal education but was an open encyclopedia with anything history related, rodeo, machinery, hunting, you name it. Lorry was always solution oriented & mechanical engineering was such an interest to him. He found joy in family gatherings, country music, good conversations, and passing down stories and traditions to the next generation. His love for the rodeo reflected the way he lived his life—with grit, passion, and an unwavering belief that the best things in life are earned. He had more fun joking around with his four grandkids, always giving them nicknames & egging them on with grandpa jokes. He bought them a pony & wanted to pass along any knowledge he had on taking care of a horse & how to "saddle up". Hunting was his other big passion & he went on many trips with friends. He had so many great friends along his journey & we joked that he was an "influencer" without ever being on social media. He didn't need it because he still loved face to face or simply talking on the phone. Lorry is survived by daughters Heather Anthony (Tim) of Tyler TX, Sadie Hagemeier (Paul) and Cami Buel (Scott) all of Eagle NE. Sister Cheryl (Lyle) Stone of Lebanon, OH Brother Roger Marshall of Wood River, NE Brother in laws Randy Taylor, Kenny Taylor and Kyle Taylor all of Elm Creek NE and Gary Taylor of Alma, NE. Grandchildren Madison Anthony of Argyle TX, Skylar Anthony of College Station TX, Cole Buel & Jax Buel of Eagle NE. 14 nieces and nephews. Preceded in death are wife, Marlene Marshall, parents Basil & Wanda (Petet) Marshall, brother Scott Marshall, sister Connie Stapleton, In laws Clarence Taylor and Mary Lou (Reiter) Taylor In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in honor of Lorry to Elm Creek Fire Dept. Though his final ride has ended, the lessons he taught, the memories he created, and the love he shared will continue to live on in the hearts of those who knew him. A celebration of Lorry’s life will be held on Thursday, Aug 27, 2026 at United Methodist Church in Elm Creek, NE at 1pm with burial immediately following at Williamsburg Cemetery (the country church & cemetery he grew up near) southwest of Elm Creek. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Services will be coordinated by O'Brien-Straatmann-Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services.

Lorry L. Marshall

November 24, 1951 - August 20, 2026