Bertha lost her father at age 8 and at age 10 her mother was placed in Woodlawn Sanitarian. Lafayette and Aunt Maria Smith took Bertha to live with them in Highland Park, Dallas County, Texas, while her two brothers, Kenneth and Lindsey and younger sister Alma were placed in Buckner Orphanage.

Bertha attended college in Arlington, Texas. She married Eugene E. Marshall upon his graduation from Texas A & M in 1925. hey then moved to Farmersville, Texas in 1935.

Whle Mr. Marshall was AG teacher and Coach of sports in Farmersville, Bertha worked downtown Dallas for Titche's Department Store until she received her retirement in 1970. After retiring, she volunteered her services as a "Pink Lady" in two different hospitals for twenty years. During World War II, her free time was canning vegtables for the military.

At age 16, her brother Lindsey, contacted her and she visited him in Ector, Texas. Her brother, Kenneth, finally located her a few years later. Upon receiving a tip, she travelled to Phoenix, Arizona and found her sister, Alma, later in life.972