Edward M. Markl Jr. , 87, retired automobile dealer and long-time Fort Worth resident, passed away peacefully the morning of May 31, 2014 surrounded by his daughter and son.

Services will be held at First Baptist Church, 117 Cora Street, Center, Texas at 2:00 p.m., Monday, June 9, 2014 with the Rev. Michael Hale officiating.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to the charity of your choice, which Ed would have wanted and which he did quietly behind the scenes, during his lifetime.

Ed was born January 21, 1927 in Wyandotte County in Kansas. He was a loving husband to his late wife, Pamela, for 56 years, a loving father to his two children, a respected businessman in the community, a WWII veteran and a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

Ed's family was in the automotive business in Kansas since the mid 1920's, following in the footsteps of his late father in one of the oldest GM franchise dealerships in the country, until Ed sold the GM dealership in the late 1970's.

He purchased the Mercedes-Benz/Rolls Royce franchise in Overland Park, Kansas and served as the President of the Rolls Royce Dealers Council and was awarded the 'Order of The Silver Lady' for having one of the outstanding Rolls Royce dealerships in the country. He sold the dealership in the late 1980's.

After working in the automotive business in southern, California, Ed and Pam moved to Fort Worth to be near their children at TCU and Ed was an account sales executive for Franklin Electric for some 10 years before retiring.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Martin Markl, Sr. and Teresa Markl and beloved wife, Pamela Sue Markl.

Survivors include his daughter, Cynthia A. Brown and husband Burton Brown of Center, Texas and son, Marty Markl and wife, Ann of Boyd, Texas, along with a brother, John Robert Markl of Scottsdale, Arizona plus many nieces and nephews.