She has an undeniable sparkle in her eye; a youthful sparkle, although her youth has passed there have
been many circumstances that would have dimmed that light in anyone but Nana. Marian Muse, fondly
known as Nana, was born in Virginia in 1933. She moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, at the age of eight
and has lived in north Louisiana the majority of her years. Nana has lived a “normal” life by an everyday
notion of normal, but Nana is anything but ordinary. It only takes a moment with her for you to feel her
spirit. Her giggle is contagious. She has a great love for a few things that has kept her spirit so inspiring.
First and foremost is her unshakable faith in the Lord. She will proudly tell you, “Even as a young girl,
God has been a big part of my life”. Her second love is that of family and that love is something fierce,
followed by her third love, Elvis Presley. She is a huge Elvis fan, particularly his movie Blue Hawaii. She
will let out her infectious laugh talking about her favorite part of Blue Hawaii, “ I love it when Elvis gets
married and floats away in a little canoe. I want to float away in that canoe like that.”
Nana is lighthearted and sharp as nails, even after suffering great losses in her life: time, after time,
after time. Nana was the mother to three beautiful daughters. Donette was born in 1957, named after
her father Don. In 1960 her second daughter Tondra was born. On Tondra’s first birthday Nana was in
the hospital giving birth to her third daughter, Lynda. Nana as always gives the credit to God in raising
her three girls, “Only with the help of the Lord was I able to raise my girls to be special women.” Nana
raised her children to be strong and independent. She was insistent that they got up each day putting
the Lord first and always applying their makeup before leaving the house. She spent her career as a
telephone operator, but her most significant job was being a mother to Donette, Tondra, and Lynda.
In 1998 the normal life of this faithful woman began to change. The change came quickly. The loss came
in droves. Nana’s middle daughter Tondra was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1998. Tondra was very
ill and knew that her time on earth would be short. The sicker that Tondra got the more she would
worry about Nana. Nana has such a fierce love for her girls, Tondra feared for Nana’s wellbeing once she
passed. She asked Nana one day, “Mom, will you be ok after I am gone?” Nana says that the response
she gave her dying daughter was nothing that she could have come up with on her own, “It was straight
from God,” she said, “Tondra, you were God’s before you were mine. If he chooses to take you home, I
will be grateful for the time I had you here with me. I am at peace.” Nana says that most people don’t
understand that. Tondra went home with the Lord in 2000.
Nana’s grandchildren will tell you that going to stay at her house was equivalent to The Ritz Carlton. She
would serve them croissants and Perrie water. Her roast and smashed potatoes, followed by lemon
meringue pie would put any five-star restaurant out of business. Nana does admit that after losing
Tondra she quit cooking for a while. Her faith never failed, but human heartache still hurts. After some
time, she picked back up and started cooking again. Then in 2003 cancer struck her family again. Lynda,
her youngest, was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2007 Donnett was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It
did not seem possible to Nana that she was to face such struggles, but as Nana does, she put her faith in
the Lord and held on tight. Lynda passed away in 2010 and Donette in 2014. All three of her girls were
taken by the beast called cancer-a mother’s greatest heartache time, after time, after time. When she is
asked, “How do you still get up every moring?” This pillar of faith so matter of factly states, “Because I
know my girls are together, and I know where my girls are. I will see them again. God says so and I just
don’t know how people go on without the Lord. He will always see you through.”
After Donette passed away her preacher came to the house and asked her, “What are you going to do
now that all of your girls are gone?” Nana was not quite sure for a while. As I sat across the table from
Nana listing to her story, her eyes sparkling, she said you know… “This may be what I was supposed to
do. I was supposed to sit down with you and tell my story. Maybe someone out there who thinks they
can’t go on will read my story and know that they can go on with faith in the Lord.” She said, “Even
though God has taken my girls to be with him, he has blessed me with four wonderful grandchildren,
two precious great grandchildren and one on the way.” After inconceivable loss, Nana sits and giggles,
her spirit intact, and her faith exuberant. Nana knows that when the time comes, she will be with her
girls floating away in little canoe, just like Elvis in Blue Hawaii. Until then, she will get up each day, put
on her makeup and enjoy the blessings in front of her. Thank you, Nana. Your beauty and faith inspire us
all.