James A. Marsee Sr.

Ambitious, driven and friendly are the words anyone in Williamsburg in the 1940’s would have used to describe James A. Marsee (Sr.). Mr. Marsee passed away the evening of Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Ft. Myers, FL, where he and his wife Vickie had resided for two years.

Born on March 15, 1931, in Krupp, KY, his family moved and he started attending Williamsburg schools in 1944. He was the first in his family to graduate from H.S., in 1950.  He took classes at Cumberland College that fall, before responding to the call of his country and volunteering for the Navy during the Korean Conflict. He was fortunate in his assignment as ship Bursar in Japan and Hawaii (’51-54). That combined experience led him to seek out a university with a Business School, Stetson University.

While at Stetson he met Miss Victoria Anderson,  marrying on Sept. 1, 1956. They had been anticipating their upcoming sixty fifth wedding anniversary.

Graduating from Stetson University in 1957, he moved his family to Phoenix, AZ, to attend the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He interviewed with, and eventually selected to work for The Kellogg’s Corporation. After a few U.S. postings, he was transferred into the International Division, and sent to manage Kellogg’s sales in the Caribbean from a base in Puerto Rico.

After three years, he was tranferred again, to serve as General Manager of Kellogg’s operations in Colombia, based in the capital city of Bogotá.  His success there led to his being tasked with developing the blueprint for Kellogg’s expansion to the rest of South America. He was then asked to return to Kellogg’s HQ, with a stated intention to send him to either Spain or South Africa.

Instead, he was moved to a recently acquired Kellogg’s subsidiary, The Legout Food Company. He worked for Legout for several years, first in Texas, then in Florida. Missing the challenges of international work, he moved to a position as an International Representative for the Florida Department of Agriculture, serving as a consultant to Florida food producers who wanted to export their products. He retired in 1998.

During his final years of work he returned to college to earn two Master’s degrees. In August, 1987, he was awarded a M.Ed. with a focus on Agricultural Education. He continued, to earn another M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision, in December, 1993.

Mr. Marsee is survived by his beloved wife Victoria, and his three sons;  James A., Jr. (Lila; Miami, FL), Paul C.  (Atlanta, GA), and Andrew S. (Vicky L.; Augusta, GA).  A fourth son, Richard A., passed away in 1997. His granddaughter Brandy L. Ledford (Paul), resides in Woodstock, GA. He also kept in touch with his nephews and nieces (brothers Arnold and Ronald, both deceased), as well as the children and grandchildren of his many older half-brothers and sisters, many of whom still live close to Whitley County.

There will not be a formal funeral service, as both Mr. and Mrs. Marsee have left explicit instructions to be carried out after their respective cremations. Small memorial services will be held for family members, organized by James, Jr.