Marsha Darville Scott

“We are earth people on a spiritual journey to the stars”. Our bright and shining star Marsha Darville Scott left this earth to join her place in the heavens on Thursday evening June 1 at her home with her family after a courageous battle with cancer.

Marsha was born early on a winter day, February 5, 1951, at the local hospital in Odessa, Texas. Later she was taken to a humble little house that sat on a lot beside her dad’s shop across from the railroad tracks. She was the youngest of 4 children.

Marsha had a sister Darla who was very near her own age. They were best friends and shared a special language and secrets to giggle about. They would often play together in the yard finding Horney Toads and giant ants that they would collect in jars. They loved trips from their home to Florida to spend time on the beach and visiting family.

Marsha described her childhood “I was a happy child. I was full of fun and mischief. I had a generous heart. I always loved to buy and make presents for other people. I was very intelligent. My sister, Darla, taught me to read long before I started school. I was also a ham. I loved to sing and dance for any captive audience. I also liked to plan adventures with fairies & elves OR cowboys and Indians. I guess I was more of a ‘Tom Boy’”.

In high school she enjoyed community theatre and she and Darla worked with her mother to build A Cottage of Flowers florist shop. She created beautiful floral arrangements. She and Darla would often sing, tell jokes, and make games out of their work.

Austin Texas was her next stop where she joined her sister Darla at the University of Texas. This was quite a long distance culturally from Odessa. Marsha enjoyed the excitement that marked the sexual revolution. She wanted to change the system and experiment outside of the traditional box. She earned a degree in Fine Arts with a focus in photography and graduated Suma cum laude. Later in life she also earned a Master of Arts degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

Marsha’s early career was spent in Seattle with Boeing creating computer animation videos for corporate promotions. This was an early application of the art of computer animation. Her career took exciting and interesting paths from creating and managing large corporate events with Corporate Magic across the US and Europe, developing promotional videos and corporate events for Verizon in Dallas, and eventually landing back in Austin at the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) in developing training presentations and gaining grants to educate young people on driving safety.

Marsha was the glue that held her family together through the years. She wanted all of those she loved to love each other. She was always on time with beautifully wrapped birthday gifts with special cards that included cheerful birthday wishes and thoughtful words of wisdom. She especially loved Winnie the Pooh quotes along with wisdom from Audrey Hepburn to Maya Angelou.

When the next generation of nieces and nephews arrived, Marsha was in full “auntie” mode. She attended special events and birthday parties. She even dressed up in elaborate costumes for some. Once her “Winnie the Pooh” costume head came off when she was hugging some 3- & 5-year-olds and they ran off screaming! We all laugh about that to this day. She related to them in a special way showing lots of patience while teaching them games including chess to her niece Rebekah at 3 years old. They delighted along with so many of her friends when her alter ego “Tex Critter” shared love and joy through her comedy performances.

Expanding her spiritual consciousness and emotional awareness was a lifelong journey for Marsha. She desired to foster communication and connection vs. argument and division. In 1986 she joined The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness which brought her a “completely new outlook on life and made her more joyful, abundant, and fulfilled”. She later expanded her spiritual community to include Inner Light Ministries for continued growth and support.

Over the past few years Marsha has taken trips to favorite places in Texas including the Canyon of the Eagles at Lake Buchanan and to visit family in Dallas and the Texas Hill Country (San Marcos, Fredericksburg, Wimberley) for holidays. As she became less able to travel due to the increasing symptoms of Multiple Myeloma, she continued to enjoy the natural beauty of the country around Austin and was revitalized with visits to Pedernales Falls and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Marsha is survived by her sister Darla Darville, her nieces and nephews Mindy Fannin, Elaine Fannin Tate, Jacque Fannin Moore, Mark Darville, Amy Darville Deans, Dana Darville-Johnson, and Peter Turner. She was preceded in death by her parents John & Martha Darville, brother Robert Wayne “Buddy” Darville, and sister Marilyn “Sis” Fannin. She loved and was loved by both her immediate family and a large extended family of in-laws, grand-nieces & grand-nephews, current and prior work colleagues, and lifelong friends.

Marsha Darville Scott will be remembered fondly and missed by so many. She left this quote with a sweet picture of Pooh and piglet walking together for us in her documents:

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. BUT the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you. “

In lieu of flowers, Marsha requested your donation to the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR.org), 9201 Sunset Blvd., Suite 300 West Hollywood, CA 90069