2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 81
BY SENATOR GATTI
A RESOLUTION
To commend Marcus Dee Wren Jr. of Minden, Louisiana, on the occasion of his ninety-fifth
birthday, January 29, 2019.
WHEREAS, Marcus Dee Wren Jr. was born to Ola Spencer and Marcus Dee Wren
Sr., a cotton and dairy farmer, on January 29, 1924; and
WHEREAS, on his paternal side, Marcus Dee Wren was the grandson of George
Lovic Pierce Wren, who was a farmer and represented his parish in the Louisiana House of
Representatives from 1884 through 1892 and was one of two who represented Bienville,
Bossier, Claiborne, and Webster parishes in the Louisiana Senate from 1892 through 1896,
during the first term of Governor Murphy J. Foster; and
WHEREAS, on his maternal side, his grandfather, Noah Spencer, was a
hard-working, self-made man who, as a young man, worked as a sharecropper to support his
mother and siblings when his father failed to return from service in the Civil War, eventually
saving enough money to buy forty acres that he cleared with an axe and a mule and, finally,
learning to read and write under the loving tutelage of his wife; and
WHEREAS, the legacy to Marcus Wren from both the Wren family and the Spencer
family was a commitment to family, hard work, education, and a strong Christian faith that
guided their lives, producing a gentleman with fortitude, honesty, integrity, and a strong
moral compass; and
WHEREAS, Marcus Wren Jr. served his country in World War II, seeing service
against the Japanese in the Philippines and as a military police officer during the liberation
of prisoners of war in Japan; and
WHEREAS, the Serviceman's Readjustment Act, known popularly as the "G.I. Bill",
afforded returning veterans the opportunity to attend college at little or no cost, and of the
seventeen million war veterans, more than seven million used benefits to continue their
education between 1944 and 1956, when the initial term of the program expired; and
Page 1 of 3 SR NO. 81 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, following his service during World War II and with the financial
assistance afforded by the G.I. Bill, Marcus Wren enrolled in Louisiana State University,
graduated with a degree in Dairy Science, and returned to the family dairy farm located
twenty miles north of Minden near Dorcheat Bayou; and
WHEREAS, on June 30, 1951, Marcus Wren married the love of his life, Gay
Stewart, and the couple had five children, Marcus Wren III, Stewart, Ellen, Rusty, and Lovic
Wren, and in the summers they entertained many nieces and nephews who came to enjoy life
in the country; and
WHEREAS, in 1951 Mr. Wren's dairy merged with four other dairy farmers and
formed the Sanitary Dairy and in 1964, that enterprise became the fifth dairy in the nation
and the first dairy south of Washington, D.C. to install a plastic milk bottle molding
machine, replacing glass milk bottles; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Wren has been active in civic affairs all of his life and served as
president of the Minden Economic Development Corporation, the Jaycees, the Minden
Chamber of Commerce, the Minden High School Quarterback Club, the Webster Parish
Farm Bureau, and the Louisiana Dairy Products Association, among others; and
WHEREAS, Marcus Wren and his beloved wife, Gay, were named the 1999
Louisiana Tree Farmers of the Year, having expanded their farm from a dairy to include
timber as a crop, and he was recognized with the Dairyman of the Year award given by
Louisiana State University; and
WHEREAS, Marcus Wren's leadership was recognized on both a state and a national
level, causing him to be named to serve on numerous boards locally on the state level and
on the national level; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Wren has been a longtime member of the Minden Chamber of
Commerce and the Minden Lions Club, and was named Man of the Year by the Lions Club;
and
WHEREAS, true to his upbringing, Mr. Wren is a longtime member of the First
United Methodist Church of Minden and has served in numerous leadership capacities, such
as president of the Louisiana Methodist Foundation, district lay reader, delegate to the World
Methodist Conference in Rio de Janeiro, and a member of countless committees; and
Page 2 of 3 SR NO. 81 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, with a loving family, several successful business ventures, an
outstandingly active civic life, and a strong faith community in First United Methodist
Church of Minden, Marcus Wren has upheld the legacy of both of his parents' families and
has been a force for good in his community and his state, making his ninety-fifth birthday
a cause for thanksgiving and celebration.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Marcus Dee Wren Jr. of Minden, Louisiana, on the occasion of his
ninety-fifth birthday, January 29, 2019.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Marcus Wren Jr. in Minden, Louisiana.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
Page 3 of 3