Marilyn Kay Chambless, 71, of Victoria, Texas, died on September 14, 2020, following a courageous fight with lung cancer. She was born on May 9, 1949 to Louis and Vera Lacina in Yoakum, Texas. She was preceded in death by her parents and numerous aunts and uncles. She is survived by her husband of 39 years,Robert P. Chambless, two sons, Robert Clayton (Dana) of Katy, Texas and Darren Louis of Austin, Texas. She has three grandchildren, Kaleigh Lewis (9), Emily Lewis (7) and Jaxson Clayton Chambless (2), all of whom she dearly loved. Also, she is survived by her brother L. Dale Lacina (Tessa), their son Nick Lacina (Kasey), their children Hudson and Connor, and many cousins in Victoria and surrounding communities.
Marilyn’s family moved to Victoria when she was only 6 months old, where she lived for most of her life. She graduated from Victoria High School (1967) and Victoria Business College (1968) and worked for Kruger Construction as a bookkeeper for seventeen years. She married Robert Chambless in 1981 and had two sons, Clayton and Darren, the love of her life. In 1988, employment took the family to Arkansas where they lived for 10 years. Initially, she did not want to leave her hometown, but she fell in love with the area. She quickly made many new friends and enjoyed watching her boys play baseball. The family joined a new church, became active within the church, and joined Bible Study Fellowship, where she had a leadership role and was also very active. After returning to Victoria in 1998, the family joined First United Methodist Church in Victoria, where Marilyn grew to be very active in her faith. She joined the Seekers Sunday School class. At the church, she became involved in the Pumpkin Patch Ministry and was instrumental in starting the Pumpkin Bread efforts. She diligently worked providing baking supplies and working many hours baking the bread and recruiting cooks to help in the effort. She joined the Community Bible Study group in Victoria and worked hard at studying and growing in her faith.
Marilyn soon became involved with Twice Blessed Consignment, an outreach of First United Methodist Church. She eventually became a member of the board and helped in the running of the ministry and in growing the shop to provide support for the community. She developed many strong friendships with the board members and volunteers that helped make the shop successful.
Marilyn and Bob were active country western dance fans and could often be found in dances in and around the Victoria area. They joined the Dacosta Western Dance Club and eventually became officers and board members of the club. When in Arkansas, the family took up camping and boating on some of the beautiful lakes in the area. Upon returning to Texas they continued boating along the coast.
Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 Friday, September 25 at Rosewood Funeral Chapel. Funeral services will be 10:00, September 26 at First United Methodist Church, 407 N. Bridge Street, Victoria, Texas, with the pastor, Rev. Dr. Wade Powell officiating. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery. Arrangements are by Rosewood Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Steve Lacina, Randy Boysen, Mike Rippamonti, Gerald Pargac, Nick Lacina and Leon Buegeler. Honorary Pallbearers will be the ladies of Twice Blessed Consignment Shop.
The family of Marilyn Chambless wishes to extend their sincere thanks to Dr. Janet Tu of M. D. Anderson in Sugarland Texas and all the doctors, nurses and staff of M. D. Anderson in Houston, Texas and to Dr. Mehran Nezhad of Victoria, Texas for all their hard work, compassion as they helped Marilyn in her long and courageous fight against her cancer.
Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.rosewoodfuneralchapel.com.
