Ask the people who knew her to describe Mary Louise Nosser, and they’ll tell you she was a kind person; a patriotic person who loved her city, her state and her Lebanese heritage.

They’re memories of a woman people say left her mark on the community and others.

Mary Louise Nosser died Saturday in Jackson. She was 88.

A lifelong resident of Vicksburg, Nosser married her high school sweetheart and worked at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, now known as the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

A member of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, she was involved in the church’s annual Lebanese dinner. She was a registered guide and a volunteer at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Most recently, she was a tour guide at the governor’s mansion.

“She was a big promoter of some of the things (Mayor) George (Flaggs) was wanting to do that may or may not have come to fruition,” said Warren County Chancery Clerk Donna Farris Hardy.

Nosser, Hardy said, was extremely proud of her Lebanese heritage and “whenever she could put it out there, she would.”

She established the Wall of Honor for the World War II veterans that featured the pictures of four church members from St. George’s who were killed in World War II.

“Of course, she saw to it that all veterans of the church are honored. It was very big with her,” Hardy said. “She had this strong feeling about the guys in World War II.”

Nosser spread her love of Vicksburg’s history and its heritage as a volunteer and as a licensed guide for the VNMP and as a member of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation.

Rick Martin, a retired chief ranger at the Vicksburg National Military Park who is now a licensed guide and works for Visit Vicksburg, said Nosser “was just an outstanding woman and an outstanding guide.

“She was a caring lady and always asking how you were doing. She was a tremendous guide; she often had people ask for her when she was a guide.”

“It’s always a tragedy when you lose someone who has contributed so much to the park,” Vicksburg National Military Park superintendent Bill Justice added.

Foundation executive director Nancy Bell said Nosser “was a loyal member of the foundation. She was certainly a great part of the historic community, and was so very interested in the history and heritage of Vicksburg and Warren County and a great supporter.”

“She was a longtime lover of this town and of everything they do that makes it improved,” friend Delores Nosser said. “She was a wonderful loyal friend. She loved being a southerner, and she loved Vicksburg and she just loved Mississippi.”