Pauline O’Neal Darby, 88, widow of the late William Gordon Darby, of Marks, MS, died Friday morning, July 29, 2011 at Quitman County Hospital in Marks.

She was the mother of Ronald E. Darby of Batesville.

Funeral services will be 5 p.m. Sunday, July 31, 2011 at Wells Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow in Shiloh Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 3 p.m. until service time Sunday.

Mrs. Darby was born July 18, 1923 in Sledge to the late William Dudley and Etta Peeples O’Neal. In 1942, Mrs. Darby graduated from Sledge High School and went on to attend one year of college at Northwest Mississippi Junior College in Senatobia. She was an active leader and member of West Marks Baptist Church and in her spare time was an avid gardener and enjoyed traveling. She also had a passion for the Ole Miss Rebels and was a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves. Mrs. Darby was one of the first women in 1965 to run for the public office of Sheriff and Tax Collector in the State of Mississippi. Mrs. Darby was the retired Secretary to the District Superintendent of Education in Quitman County.

She leaves behind a host of family to cherish her love and memory: her daughter, Micki Darby Gambrell of Atlanta, GA; two sons, Ronald E. Darby of Batesville, William Gordon Darby, Jr. of Marks; sister, Laura Sue O’Neal of Memphis, TN; two brothers, Harl “Bud” O’Neal of Sledge, Ivan Bruce O’Neal of Hernando and her six grandchildren, whose activities and accomplishments she closely followed: William Brian Darby of Nashville, TN, Bradley Patton Darby of Oxford, Billie Claire Darby of Batesville, Jennifer Darby Gambrell of New York City, NY, Gordon Hunter Darby of Oxford, and Catherine Claire Gambrell of Atlanta, GA. Besides her parents and husband, Pauline is preceded in death by five brothers, Bilbo, Stanford, Glenn, Ralph and Jack O’Neal.