Marilyn Ruth Vance

On March 8, 2022, a beautiful spirit left us to cry for her and to celebrate her journey through her life.   Marilyn Ruth Vance was a lifelong resident of Rockwood and she truly loved living in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains and the unique culture that comes from there.    Marilyn lived a fully human life, always working to improve herself and to try to understand others’ feelings and circumstances.   She was an artist, and enjoyed a lifelong pursuit of knowledge about all subjects, obscure and common.  Color, form, design, nature, music, fashion, people, stories, dreams and a deep love of all things from “the old times” gave her life meaning and much joy.  She saw herself as “strong” and she was surely that.  Her recent discovery of Face Book opened a wide world of knowledge and sharing with others that she had never experienced, and she treasured those new friendships and was able to be her best self in those relationships.  She could fight like forty tigers when she felt threatened was also loving as any human to animals and to people she met in her life.   She valued kindness to others and from others. She lived with pain but when her mask was down, the beauty of her ability to experience joy in the moment was incredible.

She experienced the loss of her parents, Charles “Buck” and Mildred Vance.   Also, her sister Mary Vance Dodd and brother David and her nephew BJ Vance.   Very dear friends were also part of her grief and sadness in this life, and she never forgot any of them.

She is survived by a brother, Bob Vance of Rockwood.   She will leave a huge space in the life of her sister, Cynthia Vance-Lovasik, her in-law Stefan Lovasik and their son Elias.

She will be remembered by her much loved nieces, Carrie Dodd, Stefanie Dodd, and Kristen Woods, Brittani Vance and Tana Vance. Also, she leaves many dear cousins who have played a special part in her life.

Many friends and loved ones who believed in her and supported her through good times and bad will also remember her determination and resilience.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, March 15 at the First Presbyterian Church in Rockwood, TN.

Gathering of friends and loved ones will begin at 1:30PM and service will begin at 2:00PM.  Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery.   Following finding her forever resting place, everyone is invited to a time to visit and enjoy sharing food at the Fellowship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church.

Evans Mortuary is handling all the final arrangements for Marilyn,