Some sad news. Marie Barton — our distant relative in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and partial inspiration for the name of our daughter Lucy Marie — died Saturday night after experiencing a paralyzing stroke very recently. She was 100 years old.

Marie Barton in 2002

I had the fortune of visiting with Marie in 2002 when members of our family went to Mt. Pleasant to meet our relatives and do family history research. Marie had an amazingly sharp mind for someone close to a century old.

My parents went back to Mt. Pleasant this last year for Marie’s 100th birthday and got video of her playing the piano and singing and doing it well.

Today, I got e-mail from the wife of one of Marie’s grandsons who wanted to make sure I knew about the death. In that message, she wrote:

My husband, Bob, and I were able to spend some wonderful time alone with Grandma back in September and will always cherish those moments. She was ready to go "Home," and she made sure we knew it. Such a wonderful loving and strong woman she was. She will be greatly missed.