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→Political life
Soon a state senator, his legislative service was interrupted by [[World War II]], in which he served in [[Europe]] in the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]]. He was discharged as a captain. Formby married the former Sharleen Wells (born September 30, 1918), later Sharleen Rhoads of [[Midland]] after Formby's death. The couple, who met in [[Austin]], had two children, Frances Formby Seales of Lubbock (born 1955) and David W. Formby (born 1957) of Plainview, and two grandchildren. A native of Barberton, [[Ohio]], Sharleen graduated as an [[English]] major from a junior college. She married Formby on September 8, 1946, in Seale, [[Alabama]]. (Coincidentally, their daughter married a man named "Seales.". Sharleen taught at the United States Army War College in [[Washington, D.C.]], and later attended graduate school at the [[University of Texas]], at which she studied radio communication. In August 1947, the Formbys moved to Plainview.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txdicken/swcoll.htm|title=Southwest Collection at Texas Tech for Dickens County|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref>
Soon a state senator, his legislative service was interrupted by [[World War II]], in which he served in [[Europe]] in the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]]. He was discharged as a captain. Formby married the former Sharleen Wells (born September 30, 1918), later Sharleen Rhoads of [[Midland]] after Formby's death. The couple, who met in [[Austin]], had two children, Frances Formby Seales of Lubbock (born 1955) and David W. Formby (born 1957) of Plainview, and two grandchildren. A native of Barberton, [[Ohio]], Sharleen graduated as an [[English]] major from a junior college. She married Formby on September 8, 1946, in Seale, [[Alabama]]. (Coincidentally, their daughter married a man named "Seales.". Sharleen taught at the United States Army War College in [[Washington, D.C.]], and later attended graduate school at the [[University of Texas]], at which she studied radio communication. In August 1947, the Formbys moved to Plainview.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txdicken/swcoll.htm|title=Southwest Collection at Texas Tech for Dickens County|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref>
For a time Formby operated the weekly ''Aspermont Star'' in rural Aspermont in Stonewall County in West Texas and later ''The Plainview Tribune.'.<ref name=plainview/> In the late 1940s,Formby pursued his [[Juris Doctor]]ate degree, which he received in 1951 from [[Baylor University]] Law School in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], Texas.<ref name=formby>{{cite web|url= http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00098/tsw-00098.html|title=Marshall Formby: An Inventory of His Papers, 1883-1989 and undated, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library|publisher=lib.utexas.edu|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref>
For a time Formby operated the weekly ''Aspermont Star'' in rural Aspermont in Stonewall County in West Texas and later ''The Plainview Tribune.'.<ref name=plainview/> In the late 1940s,Formby pursued his [[Juris Doctor]]ate degree, which he received in 1951 from [[Baylor University]] Law School in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], Texas.<ref name=formby>{{cite web|url= http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00098/tsw-00098.html|title=Marshall Formby: An Inventory of His Papers, 1883-1989 and undated, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library|publisher=lib.utexas.edu|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref>
After his admission to the bar in 1952, Formby returned to Plainview to join the firm of LaFont and Tudor, founded by Judge Harold M. LaFont and later known as LaFont, Formby, Hamilton, LaFont, and Hamilton<ref name=plainview/> In 1953, he was appointed to the Texas Highway Commission, since the Texas Transportation Commission, by [[Governor]] Allan Shivers.<ref name=plaque/> From 1957 to 1959, he was chairman of the commission and worked particularly to bring highway improvements to West Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/79R/analysis/pdf/SB00921H.pdf|title=C.S.S.B. 921|publisher=capitol.state.tx.us|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref> During his time on the commission, he visited all but three of Texas's 254 counties.<ref name=plainview/>
After his admission to the bar in 1952, Formby returned to Plainview to join the firm of LaFont and Tudor, founded by Judge Harold M. LaFont and later known as LaFont, Formby, Hamilton, LaFont, and Hamilton<ref name=plainview/> In 1953, he was appointed to the Texas Highway Commission, since the Texas Transportation Commission, by [[Governor]] Allan Shivers.<ref name=plaque/> From 1957 to 1959, he was chairman of the commission and worked particularly to bring highway improvements to West Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/79R/analysis/pdf/SB00921H.pdf|title=C.S.S.B. 921|publisher=capitol.state.tx.us|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref> During his time on the commission, he visited all but three of Texas's 254 counties.<ref name=plainview/>
[[Clint Formby]], a radio broadcaster from Hereford and a cousin of former state Senator Robert Duncan, described his uncle Marshall as a person who "swam upstream . . . and had his mind set on what he wanted to do." Duncan's mother was Formby's sister, the former Mae Robena Formby (1921–2009), who was named by Marshall Formby and his brother, John C. Formby (1902–1989), Clint's father.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/011809/obi_378551933.shtml|title=Robena Formby Duncan|publisher=''The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, which began in Hereford and was subsequently relocated to [[Fort Worth]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/20/us/margaret-formby-73-dies-began-cowgirl-hall-of-fame.html|author=Douglas Martin|title=Margaret Formby, 73, Dies; Began Cowgirl Hall of Fame"|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'|date= April 20, 2003|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>
[[Clint Formby]], a radio broadcaster from Hereford and a cousin of former state Senator Robert Duncan, described his uncle Marshall as a person who "swam upstream . . . and had his mind set on what he wanted to do." Duncan's mother was Formby's sister, the former Mae Robena Formby (1921–2009), who was named by Marshall Formby and his brother, John C. Formby (1902–1989), Clint's father.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/011809/obi_378551933.shtml|title=Robena Formby Duncan|publisher=''The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, which began in Hereford and was subsequently relocated to [[Fort Worth]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/20/us/margaret-formby-73-dies-began-cowgirl-hall-of-fame.html|author=Douglas Martin|title=Margaret Formby, 73, Dies; Began Cowgirl Hall of Fame"|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'|date= April 20, 2003|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>
Formby owned or co-owned radio stations KPAN AM and FM in Hereford, KFLD in Floydada, KTVE in Tulia, KSML in Seminole, KACT (AM) in Andrews, and KLVT in Levelland in Hockley County..<ref name=formby/> KPAN had first been considered for establishment in Canyon in Randall County south of Amarillo. It bills itself as "the only radio station in the world that gives a hoot about Hereford, Texas." By the middle 1950's, Clint Formby had become a partner in the station, and later the sole owner of KPAN and other outlets. Clint Formby was known for his "Old Philosopher" program (the longest running radio program hosted by a single individual in radio history, 1955–2011). Clint Formby's son, Larry "Chip" Formby (born 1953) worked with his father at station, as did Clint's grandsons, Jonathan and Lane Formby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kpanradio.com/|title=KPAN|publisher=kpanradio|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>
Formby owned or co-owned radio stations KPAN AM and FM in Hereford, KFLD in Floydada, KTVE in Tulia, KSML in Seminole, KACT (AM) in Andrews, and KLVT in Levelland in Hockley County.<ref name=formby/> KPAN had first been considered for establishment in Canyon in Randall County south of Amarillo. It bills itself as "the only radio station in the world that gives a hoot about Hereford, Texas." By the middle 1950's, Clint Formby had become a partner in the station, and later the sole owner of KPAN and other outlets. Clint Formby was known for his "Old Philosopher" program (the longest running radio program hosted by a single individual in radio history, 1955–2011). Clint Formby's son, Larry "Chip" Formby (born 1953) worked with his father at station, as did Clint's grandsons, Jonathan and Lane Formby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kpanradio.com/|title=KPAN|publisher=kpanradio|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>
===1962 gubernatorial campaign===
From 1967 to 1971, he was a member of the Texas Tech regents under original appointment of Governor [[John Connally|John B. Connally, Jr.]] In 1962, Formby had been among the intra-party rivals defeated by Connally for the Democratic [[Governor|gubernatorial]] nomination. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' termed Formby "a [[conservative]]" in the primary contest but did not elaborate on what were his slim chances of winning the nomination. The other contestants were sitting Governor [[Price Daniel|Marion Price Daniel, Sr.]], who sought an unprecedented fourth two-year term; [[Don Yarborough]], a [[liberal]] lawyer and supporter of [[organized labor]] from [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]; former [[Attorney General]] [[Will Wilson]], later a Republican convert, and retired Army [[General]] Edwin Anderson Walker (1909-1993), known for his staunch [[Communism|anti-communism]]. Connally went on to defeat the Republican Jack Cox, himself a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives in West Texas and then an oil-equipment executive from Houston.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896085,00.html|title=Nation: Talking in Texas|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'|date=April 22, 1962|accessdate=December 19, 2009}}</ref><ref>Two other former state highway directors who lost gubernatorial races during this period of history were [[Fred Preaus]] in [[Louisiana]] in1956 and Henry Ward in [[Kentucky]] in 1967.</ref> John Connally, meanwhile, served three two-year terms as governor from 1963 to 1969, the only office to which he was ever elected.
From 1967 to 1971, he was a member of the Texas Tech regents under original appointment of Governor [[John Connally|John B. Connally, Jr.]] In 1962, Formby had been among the intra-party rivals defeated by Connally for the Democratic [[Governor|gubernatorial]] nomination. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' termed Formby "a [[conservative]]" in the primary contest but did not elaborate on what were his slim chances of winning the nomination. The other contestants were sitting Governor [[Price Daniel|Marion Price Daniel, Sr.]], who sought an unprecedented fourth two-year term; [[Don Yarborough]], a [[liberal]] lawyer and supporter of [[organized labor]] from [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]; former [[Attorney General]] [[Will Wilson]], later a Republican convert, and retired Army [[General]] Edwin Anderson Walker (1909-1993), known for his staunch [[Communism|anti-communism]]. Connally went on to defeat the Republican Jack Cox, himself a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives in West Texas and then an oil-equipment executive from Houston.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896085,00.html|title=Nation: Talking in Texas|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'|date=April 22, 1962|accessdate=December 19, 2009}}</ref><ref>Two other former state highway directors who lost gubernatorial races during this period of history were [[Fred Preaus]] in [[Louisiana]] in1956 and Henry Ward in [[Kentucky]] in 1967.</ref> John Connally, meanwhile, served three two-year terms as governor from 1963 to 1969, the only office to which he was ever elected.