Marshall B. Hasty, 93, a longtime resident and business owner of Whitewright, passed away on Tuesday, August 19, 2008, in Denison, Texas, after a short illness. Marshall was born on June 19, 1915, in the Omega community, near Dardanelle, Arkansas. He was the eldest son of Thomas Monroe and Dovie Mae (Warren) Hasty. He graduated form Dardanelle High School in 1933. On August 19, 1934, he married the love of his life, Mary Rebecca (Jones) Hasty in Danville, Arkansas. He owned his first business, the Joy Theater in Dardanelle, Arkansas at age 19. In 1941, at age 26, he purchased the Palace Theater in Whitewright from Joe Johnson and Cloy Horton, and he and his family moved to Whitewright. He was very active in many Whitewright activities for the past 67 years. He operated the Palace and a theater in McGregor, Texas, during and after World War II. During the war there were many shortages and it was difficult to buy popcorn for the theater, so he purchased a farm and raised his own popcorn for the movie goers to enjoy. In 1945 the Palace burned, but Hasty immediately built it back in spite of the fact that materials were hard to get during WWII. He sold the Palace in 1948 and has been very busy since then. Sometimes he owned and operated three or four businesses at the same time. After he sold the theater, he opened the Whitewright Garment Factory which manufactured and supplied women’s clothing to 27 states. Other businesses he has owned are, Hasty Chevrolet Co., Hasty Coin Laundry – he built, owned, and sold coin laundries in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas – Hasty Construction Co. – building and selling houses, wildcatting oil wells in Oklahoma, Hasty Insurance in Sherman and Greenville, Rich Plan Frozen Foods of Northeast Texas, Inc. – covering 24 counties in Texas and Oklahoma, greeting card franchise, and the Furniture Mart which he owned and operated for 22 years before selling it to the Worthy family several years ago. Marshall and Griffin Dollarhide, another Whitewright businessman, formed the first Whitewright Business Booster Association. After three terms, the name was changed to the Whitewright Chamber of Commerce. He has served as president of the Chamber of Commerce, the Whitewright Rotary Club, on the Whitewright Library Board, and was on the City Council for 8 years. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and recently received his 65 year pin from the Masonic Lodge. He was also a deacon at the First Baptist Church, Whitewright. Marshall (PaPa) is survived by his only child, Barbara Hasty Hughes, and husband Ralph of Whitewright; grandson, Edward Cates Hughes and wife Connie of Whitewright; granddaughter, Becca Hughes Ferrill of Whitewright; and three precious great-grandchildren, Chris and Holly Hughes and Quincy Ferrill of Whitewright. He is also survived by a sister, Betty Ruth (Hasty) Clark and husband Jr., of Denton; sister-in-law, Nell Jones of Charleston, S.C. and several nieces and nephews. Services will be held Friday, August 22 at 11:00 a.m. at Earnheart Chapel in Whitewright with the Rev. Leon Veazey and Rev. Rodney Stanford officiating. The family will be at the funeral home at 10:00 a.m. til service time to receive friends. Masonic burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Whitewright. Masons will be pallbearers. Memorials may be made to Whitewright First Baptist Church, Whitewright Public Library, Grayson County Home Hospice, 505 W. Center, Sherman, Texas 75090, or donor’s favorite charity.