Marshall Herff Applewhite was born in Spur, Texas, on May 17, 1931, to Marshall Herff Applewhite Sr. (1901-1971) and his wife Louise (née Winfield; 1901-1988) [REF].
Applewhite attended Corpus Christi High School and Austin College; at the latter school, he was active in several student organizations and was moderately religious.