Dr. Bo Marley Was Loved By Many

Thoughts from Charles Cesare about Bo.

Madge and LeAnne, Bo was a very kind smart man. Always easy to talk to as how he was a good listener. As his medical partner/associate all those years, we always talked about our interests and issues in our life when we worked, particularly in the operating room. He always spoke very kindly and respectful of his parents, showed genuine concern for their well-being, especially as they aged. He was a strong Christian man, involved in his church and congregation. His family was always of his most concern, he monitored and fostered their every activity. We all knew what Minette was doing all through her school years, Chris and you, your whereabouts and activities. He was always in his best composure with astute professionalism when the situation dictated. He was loved by all the hospital and clinic personnel. All patients received the best of care from the poorest to the wealthy. When he underwent surgery in Birmingham, he called all the main people he worked with day in and out to tell them that he loved them, surely worried he may not come home. He just wanted to tell people how special they were to him.

Bo had a very special knowledge of all things he tackled, be it golf, tennis, yard work, running a meeting, making friends, talking with patients, working under stressful situations with a very calm demeanor and wit. When he interviewed for medical school, he was told up front, he had a place in the class, something that was not done at UMC. When taking his oral OB GYN boards in Chicago, he took over the session when asked about a University of South Alabama procedure to stop cesarean section hemorrhage; the examiners had not heard of it. It was called the Oleiry Stitch, developed by his chairman. He went to the blackboard and showed the examiners how it was done. The best defense is a good offense in those situations.

He was loved by the nurses on the OB Ward. He did a triage with a clipboard and a very thorough template of questions, not missing one detail documenting precisely. Often, he would show up on the wards at 1:00am to make rounds when all the patients were sleeping, “just checking on things.” His favorite expression after completing a surgical case or delivery was “That’s all there is, there ain’t no more!” Then he would quack like Donald Duck or perhaps do a little dog bark. Our Woman’s Clinic employees always deserved the best we could do when he was President. He loved each and every one, interested in their professional aspiration and personal problems/heartaches. He was always eager to help anyone.

Surely as he has passed through the pearly gates, St. Peter is in awe, job well done good steward.

This is certainly a time to celebrate a wonderful life and be proud of the fact that we have shared a life with Bo Marley.

Love you and your family and all that Bo and LeAnne have meant to me through the years…God bless and help all through the passage of this great loss and the celebration and honor of a wonderful human being. My wife, Carie, loved and respected him dearly. She sends her love to ya’ll.

Charles

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Dr. Bouldin Alcorn Marley, Jr.
November 29, 1949 – April 28, 2022 

Bo Marley, beloved obstetrician-gynecologist doctor at The Woman’s Clinic in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and faithful servant of our Lord, Jesus Christ, passed peacefully with his devoted wife and loving daughter by his side on April 28, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Bo was a loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle, godfather, doctor and friend to all who knew him. The lives his gentle soul touched are numerous and he will be sorely missed. We will not long forget Bo’s playful nature, which was infectious to all whose paths were intertwined with his.    

Bo loved his family, his patients, his co-workers, his friends, and complete strangers. He truly lived the life of a servant of God, loving Him with all his heart and soul and mind, and loving others as himself. He leaned mightily on The Lord’s Prayer. 

Dr. Marley, as so many knew and called him, worked as an OB-GYN at The Woman’s Clinic in Clarksdale, Mississippi, for more than 32 years, where he delivered over 10,000 babies. He retired in 2011.   

Bo was born in Clarksdale and raised in Sumner, Mississippi by his parents, whom he cherished and adored, calling their names up to his final days. 

Bo accepted Christ at an early age. He first attended St. George’s Episcopal Church in Clarksdale but grew up worshiping in the special church his parents were instrumental in founding, Episcopal Church of the Advent in Sumner, Mississippi. 

Upon his return to Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta after medical school, Bo raised his own family while worshiping at St. George’s. Upon his retirement, Bo returned to his home church at The Advent and continued there until his illness prevented him from commuting from his home in Helena, Arkansas. He found much solace in his final church home, St. John’s Episcopal Church, in Helena, and began a friendship with his empathetic priest, Reverend Ray Brown.

Bo received his undergraduate degree from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), where he was an active SAE. After college, he attended the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in 1971. He joined The Woman’s Clinic in 1979 after his residency at the University of Southern Alabama. Bo retired from The Woman’s Clinic in 2011 having seen many of the same patients for over 25+ years and, as mentioned before, delivered thousands of newborns. Bo was an excellent doctor, leaving an indelible impression on numerous families over the years. 

Bo was a consummate sportsman, sharing his love of golf, tennis and all-things Ole Miss football with his father, family and friends. A gifted musician, he was his high school’s soloist trombonist all four years. A faithful Episcopalian, he was an attendant in church life, first as an acolyte and later as an attendant and vestry member.

Along with his father, Bo was an Eagle Scout, further cementing the following long-held Marley family values and basic-life Truths:

1. Life is not fair.
2. Be patient.
3. Seek the Truth.
4. Live in the present.
5. Question extremes.
6. Keep an even keel
7. Love God and Love others.

Since retiring, Bo has enjoyed traveling with his faithful wife, LeAnne, including spending much time with his precious daughter, Minette, and his three darling granddaughters, and spending time with rescue dogs Sadie and Charlie working in his yard.

Bo’s paternal grandparents were Frank Christian Marley and his wife, Florence Bouldin Marley, of Clarksdale. Bo’s maternal grandparents were Phillip Henry Thornton, Jr. and his wife, Madge Saunders Thornton, of Charleston, Mississippi. 

Bo’s parents were Bouldin Alcorn Marley Sr. (“Boby”) and wife, Tonya Thornton Marley (“Tootsie”) who both predeceased him. 

He leaves behind his wife LeAnne Wallace Huff Marley of Helena, Arkansas, and daughter Minette Marley Townsend (Bo) of Knoxville, Tennessee, and three granddaughters, Marley Grace Townsend, Emory Katherine Townsend, and Reed Lauren Townsend.

Bo had three stepdaughters, Robi Johnson (Gabriel) of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Sarah Huff Cepeda (Christian) of Cleveland, Mississippi, and Rachel Lee Huff of Memphis, Tennessee.

He also had four step grandchildren, Dylan, Dawsen, Sophia, and Matteo.

Bo had two siblings, Christian Thornton Marley (Cheri) of Clarksdale, and Madge Marley Vance Howell (Billy) of Coahoma, Mississippi. 

He was an uncle to Christian Thornton Marley, Jr. (Madelyn) of Clarksdale, Anna Pfeifer Marley Lampton (Walt) of Jackson, Tony Clay Marley (Kalynn) of Clarksdale, and Corinne Vance Fikes (Bryan) of Oxford, Mississippi. 

He was a great uncle to Leyton Thornton Marley, Hunter Bouldin Marley, Anna Margaret Frances Marley, Henry Christian Marley, and Harrison Saunders Marley of Clarksdale; Marley Oakes Lampton of Jackson; and Lomax Lawson Fikes and Bouldin Bryan Fikes of Oxford. 

Visitation for the public was on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, from 4:00-6:00pm at Meredith Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Family gathering with close friends was afterwards at home of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Marley.

Church service for all who wanted to attend was on Thursday, May 5, 2022, 11:00am, at Episcopal Church of the Advent in Sumner, Mississippi. Followed by graveside service at Woodlawn Cemetery on Webb-Sumner Road.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Episcopal Church of the Advent, PO Box 366, Sumner, 38957 or Alzheimer’s Association®️, www.Alzheimers.org.