Marna Marguerite Newman Irby, 95, passed on to be with The Lord on Saturday, April 23, 2016 in Prattville, Alabama after a lengthy battle following a stroke late last year. She was in the home of her granddaughter, Marnie Norris, who had cared for her in her last days, and she died with family members by her side.She was born February 5, 1921 in Fields, Louisiana during an ominous thunderstorm, and her mother gave birth while all alone. She and her family lived in New Orleans, and she attended Acadia Baptist Academy in Church Point, Louisiana until she was 15 years old. It was then that she and her family moved to Ruston, Louisiana, where she lived out most of her days. She was a member of Temple Baptist Church, where her father was the founding lead pastor, and she personally saw that church grow from a tiny wooden edifice standing over a sawdust-covered floor to a sprawling red brick building on a grassy campus, then onward into its eventual home as a beautiful and recognizable structure now on the South side of I-20.She was a Christian, and her faith was one of the greatest pictures of her life. She was an enthusiastic follower of Christ, often singing as a soloist while with the choir at Temple, where she was a devoted member for many years; then later in life, growing with a new faith family at Meadows Baptist Church in Plano, Texas while living there with her son and daughter-in-law for ten years after the loss of her husband.She graduated from high school as a middle teenager, and she had completed her Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana Tech by age 19 with a double major in voice and piano. Music was elemental to her life, and she shared that gift with Ruston for most of her years, teaching a generation of children the joy of music at public schools, and then later through private piano lessons out of her own home.She was an accomplished artist in more than one way, winning several awards for short stories, magazine articles, poetry, and even for acting in plays. She was a published children author and, while in her 70, began writing a weekly column for the Ruston Daily Leader called Hangin in There, which was a staple for over 15 years.Her sphere of influence was so wide that the number of people she knew, the number of lives she touched, and the number of people who had incredible love and affection for her could never be calculated. In Ruston, she was an absolute icon. In Plano, she was cherished literally by hundreds. To her family, she was the matriarch the sole representative of her generation for twelve years, always smiling, always wise, and always cheerful in any circumstance. She was a pillar of faithfulness to God, an exemplar of companionship among people, and a pure delight to everyone who came across her.Marna is preceded in death by her father, Dr. Rev. Albert Sidney Johnston Newman, her mother, Rebecca Florence May Newman, her brother, Esthman Newman, her loving husband of 60 years, Wesley C. Irby III, and her daughter, Sara Marna, who died just two months after birth. She also is preceded by her great-grandson, Logan Jones, who passed in March of this same year.She is survived by her children, Wesley C. Irby IV and his wife, Mary Hilan Marler Irby of Richardson, Texas, and Rebecca Sydney Irby Henderson and her husband, Harold Henderson of Ruston, Louisiana; niece Debbie Newman, and nephews Mike Newman and Albert Newman. She is also survived by grandchildren Robert Irby and wife, Shari; Marnie Norris and husband, Chris; Hilan Irby Jones; Dr. Susan Morris and husband, Jonathan; Mat Irby and wife, Kelly ; great-grandchildren Amanda Norris, Taylor Irby, Morgan Norris, Cade Norris, Sydney Morris, and Emma Morris; great-great-grandchild Madisyn Bowman, and many other nieces, nephews, and loving friends.Funeral services will be Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 3 PM at Temple Baptist Church of Ruston, LA. Dr. Scott Fenton and Rev. Dale Oden will officiate. Interment will be at Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Ruston. Visitation will be Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 12 noon to 3 PM at Temple Baptist Church.The family requests memorials in lieu of flowers be made to your choice of the following: Temple Baptist Church, Ruston, LA (http://temple-ruston.org/); Meadows Baptist Church, Plano, TX (http://meadowsbaptist.org/), Life Choices of North Central Louisiana (http://donors.lcncla.com/ and http://www.lifechoicesncla.org/), or Gideons International (https://www.gideons.org/HowYouCanHelp/GeneralDonations.aspx).”Online condolences may be made to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com.