Marilyn Anita Collatt Murrow, a woman who once nearly died as a baby only to stick around and cause delightful memories for decades afterward, has left this world after a life marked by grit, mischief, faith, and an unapologetic love of adventure (and grandkitties).

Born to David Collatt and Arlene (Cooper) Collatt of Haskell, Arkansas, Marilyn arrived with more determination than most. As an infant, she battled pneumonia so fiercely that a country doctor had to race to the rescue. That early near-miss set the tone: Marilyn was not one to go quietly. She was advanced a grade in school, graduated as valedictorian from Harmony Grove High School, and still found time to be gloriously mischievous. She helped introduce an opossum to a teacher’s car and once conducted a bold physics experiment involving a bucket of eggs and the stubborn laws of gravity. (Her mother, wisely, declined to punish the scientific method.)

By age six she was already driving the family tractor and catching firewood as it flew off the splitting blade—early evidence that she preferred action to idleness. At 17 she began her working life at Southwestern Bell, later moving into banking and advertising. She modeled for First National Bank in Dallas for Master Charge, won pageants in Central Arkansas (and was a runner-up in a larger one in Arkansas), and generally refused to sit still.

In 1971, on a foggy Christmas Eve in Texas, she married Jim Murrow in a small ceremony. Their union produced a daughter, Amity, whom Marilyn cherished above all else. Marilyn earned her master’s in education from Drury University and spent roughly two decades teaching second through fifth grades at Fremont and Bingham Elementary Schools. She also taught preschool in the late 1970s and early 1980s at First Baptist Church in Seymour, Missouri. Generations of students learned their letters, numbers, and—quite possibly—a healthy respect for a teacher who had once put wildlife in automotive storage.

Faith was never a spectator sport for Marilyn. A devout Southern Baptist, she served as a missionary to China on multiple occasions and lived on the mainland for three years, during which at least 44 people came to faith under her influence. She traveled widely—Jamaica, Europe, India, China, Thailand, Paraguay, Senegal, West Africa, and Mexico—collecting stories, perspectives, and the quiet conviction that Jesus Christ is King and is coming back again.

At home she painted in oils, decorated rocks to sell and give away, and sewed her own clothes with the same practical creativity she brought to everything else. She was passionate about women’s rights and empowering girls, grew more politically engaged later in life, and gave regularly to charities. She also maintained firm visitation rights with her “grandkitties,” a responsibility she took with the utmost seriousness.

Marilyn is survived by her beloved daughter Amity (Murrow) Farr; Son-in-law CJ Farr; her cherished grandkitties, Chia and NoMe Farr; her brother Kenneth Collatt and wife Judy; her sister Evelyn (Collatt) Callahan; and a mighty host of nieces, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

Arrangements are pending.