Obituary of John Rudolph March III

John Rudolph March III, age 69, passed away at Gainesville, Texas, on January 24, 2023. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM, Saturday, February 11, 2023, in The Chapel at Griffin~Hillcrest of Ardmore, Okla. John was born on May 3, 1953, in Duncan, Oklahoma, the third of three children of and Marilyn Ellis March and John R. March Jr.. In 1956, the family moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma, where his father took a position with Samedan Oil Corporation. Two years later, the family moved once again, this time to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where Mr. March Jr. was transferred to establish Canadian operations for Samedan. The family returned to Ardmore in 1961, where John attended Charles Evans and Will Rogers elementary schools, Ardmore Junior High, and Ardmore High School, from which he graduated in 1971. While attending Ardmore High, John served as editor of the Criterion yearbook, manager of the Ardmore Tigers Football team, and participated in many other activities. In the fall of 1971, John entered the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in Advertising and Journalism. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and was named his chapter’s outstanding member at the end of his senior year. Following his senior year at OU, John attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he engaged in post-graduate study of graphic design for two years. In 1977, John began his 45-year-long career in graphic design, corporate communications, and branding. His first position was with the firm Graphic Illustrators in Dallas. From 1979 until 1981, he held the position of Director of Communications for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity national office in Evanston, Illinois. John then returned to Dallas, where he worked first as an art director for Eisenberg Inc. and later as Director of Design for Point Communications. In 1986, John moved to New York City, where he was Senior Art Director for the distinguished firm of Gips + Balkind Associates. He later worked for firms including Muir Cornelius Moore, Hill & Knowlton, and Addison. In 1995, he was named by the Prudential Insurance Company of America in Newark, New Jersey, to the position of Director of Corporate Identity, where he supervised an overhaul of Prudential’s brand identity. In 1998, his previous employer, Addison, recruited him to return to the firm and join the firm’s San Francisco office to create and manage a new division. In 2001, John returned to Ardmore, where he was a communications specialist for the Noble Foundation. He returned to Dallas in 2004 and was named Creative Director of Ambit Energy. Beginning in 2011, John managed his own small design consultancy, producing creative work for a select number of clients. He is survived by his sisters: Laura March Keys and Barbara March Harris and husband, Terry; nieces and nephews: Ellis Ebel and husband, Mark, Tom Harris and wife, Sarah, Mary March McKeever and husband, Daniel, and David Harris and wife, Ashley; and several great-nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers will be Larry Sparks, Kirk Dooley, William Brooks, David Blankenship, Dale Rushing and Brad Hallett. In lieu of flowers, John has requested making memorial donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org. Condolences may be left at www.griffinhillcrest.com.