Minor Lee Marston passed away peacefully on August 19, 2025, at Sunrise Senior Living in Severna Park, MD, at age 92. He was born on June 14, 1933, to the Rev. H. Lee Marston and Charlotte Minor Cheape in Montclair, NJ. In 1937, the Marston family returned to his mother's home, Albemarle County, Virginia, when his father was named rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Greenwood, VA. Lee was raised as a proud "PK" (Preacher's Kid), along with his three siblings, Charlotte Jane, Johnny, and Terry, growing up near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lee and his family also enjoyed spending summers with multiple generations of Marstons at his grandparents' summer home, Tower Bank, on the Severn River.

Lee graduated from the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, in 1951, and from the University of Virginia in 1955, and was captain of the wrestling team at both schools. He started working as a traveling salesman for Armstrong in Denver, CO, where he roomed with his lifelong friend, Jim Ridenour. He returned to Baltimore in 1960 to work for the family-owned floorcovering wholesale business, J.J. Haines & Co., where Lee had started working summers since 1950. His great-grandfather, Capt. John James Haines, had won $800 from Yankee prison guards in a poker game at Fort Delaware during the Civil War, sewed the gold coins inside his belt, and went on to open a wholesale wicker-ware store in Baltimore in 1874. Following his grandfather, Casper T. Marston, and uncle, John H. Marston, Lee was the fourth-generation president of Haines from 1967 to 1988. He took over as chairman of the board in 1993. After 50 years in the flooring business, he officially retired in 2001 while his cousin, Mort Creech, was running the company. J.J. Haines & Co. remained a family-owned business with many dedicated employees and customers from 1874 until 2019.

After meeting his future bride on a twenty-hour-long blind date(!), Lee married Sylvia Wyrick on July 15, 1961. They moved to Severna Park, MD, in 1967, after Lee purchased waterfront property next to his grandparents' former summer home. They raised four children—Christopher, Anne Minor, Kirkie, and Kate—at "Little Tower Bank" on the Severn River.

Lee was very active in the community, especially with St. Martin's-in-the-Field Episcopal Church, Boy Scout Troop 855, and the Severna Park Community Center. An active sportsman, he enjoyed hiking, camping, hunting, gardening, canoeing, sailing, fishing, and swimming, especially in his beloved Severn River. He also enjoyed playing bridge and tennis with his wife and friends, and squash at the Maryland Club in Baltimore. He was a longtime board member of several organizations, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Virginia Theological Seminary, Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College, YPO, and Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC.

Devoted to his family, he always made time to attend his children's and grandchildren's sports events. He also enjoyed traveling with his family, especially to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with the Ridenours, an annual tradition for over forty-five years.

Minor Lee Marston is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sylvia; his son Christopher Marston (Julia); daughters Anne Minor Kurtz (Charlie); Kirkie Blackwood (Art); and Kate Cleven (Brian); and seven grandchildren: Grace, Peirce, Ben (Hayley), Meghan, Charlotte (Wade), Philip, and Roman.

A memorial service followed by a reception will be held at St. Martin's-in-the-Field Episcopal Church on September 13, 2025, at 11am. A Livestream will be available for those unable to attend:
https://stmartinsinthefield.com/worship/livestream/

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Marston Family Foundation, c/o Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, 900 Bestgate Road, Suite 400, Annapolis, MD 21401.
https://cfaac.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1091

or to: St. Martin's-in-the-Field Episcopal Church.
https://stmartinsinthefield.com/giving/give/