Marion Wesley Harriman

Marion Wesley Harriman was a loving husband, father, grandfather and uncle. He left this world on Tuesday, June 13, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the age of 85.

He was born to Ora and Minnie Harriman on September 13, 1937, in Rosepine, Louisiana. In 1955, Marion met the love of his life, Dorothy “Dot” Ogden Harriman, at Temple Baptist Church in DeRidder, Louisiana and were married on July 19, 1957. The couple had two daughters, Brenda and Sharon.

Although he didn’t have biological sons of his own, his nephews, son-in-law, grandson-in-law and close family friends: Dewayne Nobles, Keith Nobles, Larry Ogden, Mike Funderburg, Clay Kiser, Van Harriman, Layne Harriman, Kelvin Harriman, Eric Harriman, David Barber, Charles Smith, Kolby Cook, Danny Craft and Craig Cooley, were viewed more to him as sons. To some on this list, Marion was thought of as a second father.

Throughout his life, Marion loved spending time outdoors, whether it was sitting on his porch with an ice-cold glass of tea, fishing at Toledo Bend or his pond, tending to his cows and donkeys, baling hay or traveling across the southern states watching LSU play ball.

Marion’s absolute greatest joy was watching his granddaughter, Madisen, play ball from a young age throughout her high school career. His ultimate high was retrieving softballs that she “put out of the park”. It was his greatest source of pride.

Until his cancer diagnosis, Marion was a social butterfly with his red, flatbed truck constantly running the roads. When he retired, he faithfully stuck to his routine of going to the gym and stopping at Dairy Queen or Circle C Farm & Ranch Supply to banter with his friends over a cup of coffee.

Those that had the opportunity to know Marion could be sure of four things: He was a die-hard sports fan, specifically the LSU Tigers (regardless of the sport), he had the biggest sweet tooth, you always knew where you stood with him and he loved his family and “girls” fiercely.

Early in their marriage, Marion and Dot lived in Baton Rouge. Dot worked at the LSU campus infirmary, giving Marion the perfect excuse to be an LSU football, baseball and basketball season ticket holder. He enjoyed telling stories about watching Mel Branch, Billy Cannon and Pete Maravich play ball and expressed his disdain for Nick Saban to anyone that would listen.  After the couple moved back to DeRidder and he progressed in age, their same LSU football season tickets, since 1958, were eventually passed down to family.

Marion’s sweet tooth came honestly. Most of his career involved working in distribution for well-known beverage and snack companies, like Coca-Cola, Hostess, Foremost and Little Debbie. For years, he was known as “the Little Debbie man” in the community and often brought his inventory of cokes, ice cream and snack cakes home to his daughters growing up.

To sum Marion up in one word, “hard” may come to mind. He was a stubborn, hard-headed man and, often times, hard to communicate with. Don’t misunderstand this as a negative characteristic entirely.

While there may not have been any middle of the road with him, Marion loved even harder. He loved his family and close family friends with his whole heart and never did anything halfway. He was a hard worker and enjoyed working with his hands outside.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 65 years, Dorothy “Dot” Ogden Harriman; daughters, Brenda Harriman; Sharon Harriman Smith and husband, Charles; only grandchild Madisen Smith Cook and husband, Kolby, along with a host of nieces, nephews and extended family.

Marion is preceded in death by his parents, Ora and Minnie Harriman; two brothers, Melvin Harriman and Irvin Harriman and sister Myrna Harriman Kiser Craft.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2023, with visitation from 9:00 AM until the time of service at 11:00 AM, at Myers Colonial Funeral Home in DeRidder, LA. Pastor, and nephew, Eric Harriman and Reverend, and cousin, Sonny Murphy will officiate the service. The burial will follow at Rosepine Cemetery.

The family requests those attending the visitation and service to wear an LSU shirt or purple and gold.