MARILYN BLOOD DARLING 1931-2021 Marilyn Blood Darling, our loving mother, passed peacefully into the heavenly realm on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. She was born in Pocatello, Idaho, to Cromwell Bird and Millie Layton Blood on August 19, 1931. She was a sickly baby, and they thought she was going to die. However, she became a strong and vibrant woman. She attended local schools and Idaho State College, where she met her future husband, Donald Lee Darling, at a sorority dance. They were married on April 14, 1951, and later sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on October 23. They moved to Caldwell, Idaho, where our father worked as a pharmacist. She became the mother of six children, three girls and three boys, and loved them dearly. She was a woman of faith and compassion. She taught us to pray and seek the Lord. She never failed to set a good example for us. She was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since our mother was not afforded the opportunity to learn piano, she made sure that we children all took piano lessons. The boys were involved in sports, while the girls took 4-H sewing and cooking classes. Mom canned fruits and vegetables every summer and fall, and we always participated, even though unwillingly at times. We would go to the orchards and pick the fruit, and then go home and bottle it. Our father gardened and produced a bounteous crop, so we always had plenty to do. In January 1970, the family moved to Weiser, Idaho, where our father had purchased Departee Drug. When the drugstore was moved to a new location, it became Darling Drug. The National Oldtime Fiddlers' Festival was held in Weiser every year during the third week of June, and we all enjoyed the festivities. Mom also participated in the Lions Club with Dad. Our parents lived there for 43 years. Mom moved down to Orem, Utah, in June 2013 after Dad's death in January 2011. She enjoyed senior living at The Seville. The neighbor boy who had lived kitty corner from her in Pocatello was there along with relatives of her Uncle Seth. She got into putting puzzles together, which was a favorite pastime of our father. She also met Richard Grant. He had an office adjoining the family history center, where she enjoyed watching BYU games. He began courting her, and they were married on April 11, 2015. They spent several happy years together until he died in December 2018. They had moved to Spring Gardens in April 2017, where she continued living until the time she passed away. She is survived by siblings Margaret Christiansen, Carol Coon, William (Pauline) Bird; sister-in-law Joyce Bird; children Carol Ann Mercier, Janelle Whiting, Alan Darling, Shareen (Heath) Allred, Troy Darling; 21 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her brother Richard Bird and son Duane Darling in a hit-and-run bicycle accident in July 2016. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, December 28, 2021, in Provo, Utah, at Walker Sanderson Funeral Home (85 E 300 S) with a viewing from 10:00-10:45am. The funeral service will begin at 11:00am. Burial will be in Weiser, Idaho, on Friday, January 7, 2022. There will be a memorial at the Weiser Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that evening from 6:00-8:00pm.