Marilyn Barber Butler, age 61, of Vicksburg, went to be with the Lord on Monday, April 4, 2014.

She was born to Lee and Virginia Barber on Jan. 23, 1953. Marilyn was one of the few genuinely good people we’ve ever known. She was capable of both delivering and experiencing immense joy, and served as both our light and our glue. She gloried in her family and friends. She had an unwavering faith in God. She was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church.

Family and friends were Marilyn’s passion and delight. She was a warm, compassionate and vibrant woman who always went out of her way to help others – no matter what. She was a proud and dignified woman who had a desire for life. She had a wonderful sense of humor which endeared her to everyone she came in contact with, and it is a great testament to her nature.

Our mother will become greater than all of us, and she lived as the best among us. She was our mother, and in that role we could not have asked for a better or stronger woman. She did everything she was supposed to do and more – she took care of us when we were sick, celebrated our victories, comforted us in defeat, punished severely those that dared harm us, and pointed us in the right direction. Our best hope in life is to emulate her brilliance and give of ourselves to others as purely as she always did.

We are thankful that our mother taught us to love each other in a way that made getting through this possible. Most of all, we are thankful for our mother’s humor. Our mother’s wit was bone dry and her comic timing was wonderful, and if either of us have a gift for making people laugh, we inherited the execution and craft of it from her. We tell you now that our mother was a saint, and that her only fault was giving too much of herself.

As her son and daughter, we have tried to do right by her and become worthy of the upbringing she worked so hard to give to us. As we were faced with difficult news and tough decisions in recent days and weeks, we knew that above all else she wanted to be at home when she died, and we fulfilled that wish.

As our mother taught us to be strong, she expects us to carry on, and so we will. We will be okay. It was better for the entire world when she lived and walked among us. But in the end, she went home, and when she got there she was happy and peaceful.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Brooklyn Guthrie.

She is survived by her parents, Lee and Virginia Barber; brother, Ricky Barber; sister, Sherilyn Abney (Steve) of Vicksburg; son, Blake Poole (Shannon) of Brandon; daughter, Jennifer Kendrick (John) of Vicksburg; nephew, Austin Barber; niece, Morgen Barber, and her three precious grandchildren, Tristan Poole, Tim Renfroe II, and Mason Guthrie. She also leaves behind loving relatives and friends.

Visitation will be on Monday, April 7, 2014, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Glenwood Funeral Home. The Mass celebrating Marilyn’s life will be held the following day on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at 11 a.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 100 St. Michael’s Place, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Flowers may be sent to Glenwood Funeral Home 145 Highway 80, Vicksburg, Mississippi.  There will not be a graveside service.