Pearl's children: (8): Lynette born 1 March 1938, Gladys Evelyn (b. 1939), Robert William Kenneth (1941-1970), Leslie Arthur (1942), John Hamilton (b.1944), Judith Elaine (b. 1946), Carolyn Sue (1948) and Gloria June (b. 1950).
She was a member of the P&C for many years, Secretary in 1970-1972, 1977-1980, Treasurer 1973-1976 and again in 1980, and President in 1982.
Pearl was a P&C Reporter to the Gnowangerup Star newspaper as well as the reporter for the CWA and the Garden Club.
She joined the Repertory Club in 1966 and was the treasurer until it closed.
Pearl and Robert were very close friends with Joyce and Jack Hesse.
Pearl was also involved in the Baptist and Methodist (now Uniting Church) Ladies’ Guild and has been President, secretary and treasurer of the CWA.
Pearl and Robert were married almost 54 years before Robert passed away in 1991.

Written by a Family Member in 2008

“Pearl Gwendoline Lily Black was born on 14th March 1911 in a galvanized iron shed at the back of where Sadler's butcher shop now stands.
She had normal if impoverished childhood and had to leave school at 13 to help her mother care for her baby sister, Joy so she was never able to achieve her ambition of being a teacher.
As a young woman she worked in various domestic positions until she found work as a housekeeper/Nanny with Claude and Sarah Cockram. Her experiences with the Cockrams and their eight children, and the relationships she formed with them lasted her lifetime, and she loved them like her own.
The Cockram kids were her "other family".
In 1937 she married East Broomehill farmer Robert Marshall had six children.
In 1948 whilst pregnant with number seven, they moved off the farm into Gnowangerup and thus continued her lifelong love affair with this town.
Pearl finished her family with a daughter making 8 in all, 5 girls and 3 boys.
In 1956 Pearl began her association with the Gnowangerup School which continued for 64 years until frailty made her unable to attend any more. She always believed if a town had a good school then good people would want to live here.
She loved her children with a passion so much so that when we came down for a weekend she wouldn't attend church on the Sunday. She used to say that God will have to wait when the family is down.
Even though money was very tight, as you can imagine with 10 mouths to feed and as Dad suffered from crippling arthritis he was unable to work a lot of the time, Mum also managed to keep positive.
Sometimes when she didn't know where the next meal was coming from she used to say "Something will turn up" and without fail it did.
Invariably a farmer would knock on the door with half a sheep he'd slaughtered, a neighbour would call in with some eggs and a box of veggies or a local who had been fishing would drop off a feed of fish. It never fazed her if one of us would turn up with a friend at mealtimes. She always managed to conjure up an extra meal. Over the years she fed many an unexpected dinner guest. At one point she was cooking for 13 with the addition of her Mum who was convalescing and two young grandchildren.
 

She made memories for us as children. She showed us that you don't need a lot of money to have a good time. We remember with great fondness the picnics in the bush at Kyballup with our dear friends, Joyce and Jack Hesse, camping every summer at Little Grove in Albany, fishing at Bremer Bay and the wonderful times spent at Mon and Tup Treasures dancing to old Elvis songs with Jeannette and Helen.
Mum was a great role model to all of her children. She taught us to respect each other and to respect other people. She showed us how to see the funny side of things and to always look on the bright side of life (long before Monty Python ever did!)
We had very little in the way of material possessions but we knew we were blessed with two parents who loved us unconditionally. I daresay we gave them both a few grey hairs throughout our teenage years and in actual fact they had to deal with teenagers for 11 unbroken years. It is a miracle that Mum lived as long as she did!
When she was 84 she wrote and published a book on Gnowangerup as she felt that the book on the town which was commissioned by the local Council did not pay homage to the battlers who formed the backbone of this community.
In 1970 she lost her beloved son, Johnny in tragic circumstances. Her world fell apart but she tucked her grief away in a special place in her heart and moved on.
In 1991 our dear dad passed away and she greatly missed him. They were together almost 54 years and never a harsh word passed between them.
Her lifelong commitment to Gnowangerup saw her receive many awards. She became a citizen of the year, a living treasure in the Uniting Church, and received numerous awards for her services to the school.
The most recent being a certificate commemorating 64 years service to the P and C. Association.
She was a wonderful mother and a great friend and listener. Many times in her final years people from Home and Community Care would come to help her out and end up staying tor a cuppa ano sharing their troubles with her.
She never judged anyone no matter their colour devil led: We had a family joke that Mum would see good in the devil himself.
She believed you should always treat people as you would like to be treated yourself.
She wasn't a saint, at times she could be annoying and opinionated, was always right even when she wasn't and as stubborn as all get out. She wouldn't budge an inch if she thought she was right.
But for all that, she was simply our Mum and we loved her.”