Marilyn Elizabeth Lytle died on November 26 after a brief illness. Marilyn was born at Trinity Hospital in Arcata on April 4, 1941 to Bernard James & Mary Jean Lytle. She is survived by family here in the US, overseas, and Bolivia.

Motivated by love for God and humanity, Mom chose to live a life of service. From an early age she was determined to be a full-time minister and pursued every opportunity available to share hope and comfort. Her outstanding volunteer spirit led her to be invited in 1966 to join the 43rd class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. After a period of intense training, she accepted an assignment to serve as a missionary to the South American country of Bolivia. Mom treasured the years she spent traveling throughout the country that became her new home, visiting numerous towns and cities, hiking to remote villages high in the Andean mountains, traversing the vast expanse of the Altiplano, and traveling by boat to isolated communities deep in the Amazon jungle. Her zeal for God led many to develop a meaningful relationship with their Creator.

When family illness prevented her from staying in her missionary assignment, she did not lose heart. Instead, she embraced the new circumstances as a new assignment.

Residents of Humboldt know Marilyn primarily from the years she spent caring for her daughter, Lilyán Navarro. Marilyn advocated for Lilyán’s medical needs with the same spirit of self-sacrifice she showed as a missionary. Medical professionals responded to the high level of dedication and compassion Marilyn showed as a care provider. They in turn were willing to go the extra mile in helping Lilyán meet her medical challenges. We the family are profoundly grateful to everyone in the community who helped Marilyn take care of Lilyán all these years.

To the many friends, aids, nurses, doctors and specialists we say thank you.

In times of distress, when life was on the line, Mom’s faith was strong. Even as Lilyán’s medical needs became more involved, Mom would still give others her time and encouragement. She showed us that actions and personal choices are our own to make, despite the uncontrollable events of life. Mom never gave up.

Marilyn believed in God’s Kingdom. She believed in the words of Isaiah 33:24 that promise an end to illness. She believed mankind will have a future of dignity without the misery we see all around us. She believed the Bible’s promises that God will end poverty, war, violence, tears, even death. She believed Jesus’ earthly ministry was a preview of God’s Kingdom. She believed what Paul wrote to Titus: “God cannot lie.” She believed each person can learn to be peaceful, joyful and happy. She wanted everyone she met to know that Jehovah cares for us as individuals.

A memorial for Marilyn Lytle will be held at 2 o’clock Saturday, December 18th. Due to an abundance of caution and a profound respect for life, Marilyn’s memorial will be held over Zoom. The service will be presented in English and in Spanish. Zoom ID: 842 0418 6289 Password: Lytle

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A nuestra familia espiritual,

Cómo hubiéramos deseado haber estado juntos en persona, en estos difíciles momentos. Cuánto anhelamos vernos de nuevo, cara a cara, y poder abrazarnos, y confortarnos con palabras tranquilizadoras, y sentir ese apoyo mutuo. La muerte de aquellos seres queridos, de aquellos que amamos, es muy difícil de sobrellevar, Incluso aunque sabemos que la situación es temporal. Pronto estaremos en ese maravilloso nuevo mundo, en el nuevo orden de cosas, y finalmente se borrará todo sufrimiento y dolor. Deseamos continuar de lado a lado en nuestra lucha contra Satanás y su espíritu corrupto, hasta llegar al paraíso. Nos entristece mucho, perder a cualquier ser querido en la muerte.

Pero, aunque estemos separados por miles de kilómetros y aparte por la pandemia global, no estamos separados por el amor de Dios, que todos sus siervos reflejamos. Por favor, sepa que a medida que pasaban los años, Marilyn estaba encantada de ser testigo ocular, de ver el avance espiritual de aquellos con quienes tuvo el privilegio de compartir su amor por Jehová. A ella le encantaba ver, que cada uno de ustedes crecieron espiritualmente en su relación con Dios. Además, Marilyn fue testigo evidente de todas las bendiciones de Dios, sobre cada uno de ustedes ya sea en el ministerio y otros aspectos de sus vidas. Qué feliz se sentía al ver crecer pequeñas semillas de la verdad y convertirse en congregaciones, circuitos y grupos lingüísticos prósperos que avanzaban cada vez más en los intereses del Reino.

La Primera Carta de Juan promete: “el que hace la voluntad de Dios vive para siempre”. El enfoque de la vida de Marilyn fue la predicación y la enseñanza del Reino de Dios. Por lo tanto, el memorial de Marilyn será un mensaje alentador para poner fe en las promesas que se encuentran en la Biblia y hacer la voluntad de Dios, con todo corazón. Invitamos a todos los que conocieron a Marilyn y a todos los interesados en aprender el mensaje bíblico de esperanza a estar presentes en el memorial de nuestra querida hermana. Debido a la pandemia en curso, el memorial de Marilyn se llevará a cabo a través de Zoom. ID: 842 0418 6289 Contraseña: Lytle.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Marilyn Lytle’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.