A memorial service for Marianne Bailey Wilcox, 83, of Monroe, LA, will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Friday, January 23, 2026, in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home Sterlington Rd., Monroe. Visitation will be held from 1:00 P.M. until service time at the funeral home.

Marianne Bailey Wilcox, a devoted teacher, community volunteer and loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, passed away on January 20, 2026. Marianne was born in El Dorado, Arkansas on November 19, 1942, to John and Mary Louise Bailey and moved with her family to North Little Rock soon after.

Some of Marianne’s fondest memories were of her childhood in the Baring Cross neighborhood in North Little Rock. She would tell stories of her early childhood and riding the streetcars in Little Rock with her parents and going to the movies with her father. She attended Baring Cross Baptist Church and often recalled walking to her neighborhood elementary school and church with friends and family. She was a proud graduate of North Little Rock High School where she made so many lifetime friends. As an honor student at North Little Rock High School, she earned a scholarship to Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas), where she majored in English and trained to be a teacher. On campus, she was active in several organization including the Sigma Kappa Sorority, the T-Stepper Dance Team, the Scroll (yearbook) and the Young Democrats — a group that introduced her to one of her earliest political heroes, President John F. Kennedy. She would often tell the story of traveling to Little Rock with a group from college to hear President Kennedy speak.

While taking a ballroom-dancing class in college, she met a young man from Bald Knob, AR, Frank Wilcox. We all enjoyed the story of how they met. She said he was by far the worst dancer in the class, and she took him under her wing. They dated a few times through the first two years but became inseparable during their Junior and Senior years. Upon Frank’s graduation in August of 1964, they were married in North Little Rock at Baring Cross Baptist Church. Soon thereafter, Frank and Marianne moved to North Little Rock, where Marianne taught English at her alma mater, North Little Rock High School. She loved teaching but her true passion was to start a family. In 1967, they welcomed their son, Blake, and soon thereafter, their daughter, Missy.

In 1971, the family moved to a new home in Monroe, LA near Sallie Humble Elementary School. Marianne and Frank were new to Monroe and were immediately embraced by many of the young families in the neighborhood. There she made friendships that lasted a lifetime. As her children grew older, she was at all of their school and sporting events. This is when she became involved with one of her greatest loves, Neville High School. She so enjoyed watching Blake play football and Missy cheer. She said one of her all-time favorite times was when Blake was playing and Missy was cheering on the sideline at the 1984 State Championship in the New Orleans Super Dome.

After her children began college, Marianne accepted a position as an English teacher, first at St. a Fredrick Highs School, and then at her beloved Neville High School. She so enjoyed her students and colleagues, many of whom she kept up with throughout her life. One of her proudest accomplishments was when she was honored as the Neville High School Teacher of the Year — an award she proudly kept in a display case.

In retirement, Marianne and Frank traveled throughout the United States and Europe, with friends and with Frank’s to his business meetings. She also volunteered her time to the Monroe Symphony League, especially the Symphony Used Book Store. She was a founding member and a past president of the Crossroads Garden Club and so enjoyed attending events with all her friends. She continued to be an active and generous presence in her community.

Marianne’s greatest joy in later years was her family. She delighted in visiting her grandchildren — Jack Wilcox and Caroline Wilcox in the Pacific Northwest where she and Frank would travel several times a year to attend events and celebrations with Blake and Leigh Ann. They were especially fond of traveling to this area of the country in August when it was so hot in Louisiana.

While she was in Monroe, she would turn her attention to Missy and Kevin McNabb and their children Truman and Bennett. She was so excited in recent years when Truman and Bennett chose to play football at her Neville High School. Although she was unable to attend the games in person, she never missed cheering them on via the Neville Tiger Network.

Marianne was preceded in death by her parents, John and Mary Louise Bailey. Marianne is survived by her husband of 61 years, Frank Wilcox; her brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Lyla Bailey of North Little Rock, Arkansas; her son, Blake (Leigh Ann) Wilcox of Sammamish, Washington; her daughter, Missy (Kevin) McNabb of Monroe, Louisiana; her grandchildren, Jack (Shauna) Wilcox; Caroline Wilcox, and Truman McNabb and Bennett McNabb; her great grandson, Leo Blake Wilcox; her niece, Kate (Lane) Smith; her nephew, Taylor (Casey) Bailey; and numerous great nieces and nephews. And finally, her longtime friend and caregiver, Michelle Taylor.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Humane Society Adoption Center of Monroe. Her family and friends will remember her kindness, her whit, her quick laugh, her unwavering devotion to students and family, and the many small ways she made life richer for everyone who knew her.