John Marshall Weaver Sr. was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina on February 14, 1919 to Mary Weaver Payseur and John Henderson Weaver. Marshall grew up in Lincolnton, NC and attended Riverview Baptist Church where he worked with the youth. He also served in the 109th Calvary troop. In 1939 Marshall married Carolyn Mae Spargo from Gastonia, NC. They attended Acadia Baptist Academy in Louisiana where Marshall taught in French missions and took an active part in the street-preaching ministry. They returned to North Carolina to graduate from Campbell Junior College where Marshall served as class president. They then attended Wheaton College where Marshall earned his B.S. degree in 1946. After Wheaton he and Carolyn moved to Winston-Salem, NC where he taught high school at Piedmont Bible College. Marshall then enrolled in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and obtained his Bachelor of Divinity degree while serving as pastor in local churches. In 1955, Marshall and Carolyn returned to North Carolina to serve at Centerville Baptist Church in Kelly, NC. Following that pastorate, they moved to Wilmington, NC where he was pastor in area churches for over thirty years, including Town Creek Baptist, Soldiers Bay Baptist, Carolina Beach Community, and Seagate Community Church. In later years, he served as headmaster of Ogden Christian Academy. Reverend J. Marshall Weaver Sr. died on July 16, 2011 at age 92.