Long-time Natchez resident Emily Marks Calvert died on Tuesday. She was 101.

Family and friends reminisced about Mrs. Calvert’s long life, recalling her as a loving, charitable and charming lady.

&uot;She was a joy to the neighborhood,&uot; said Dr. Donald Killelea, whose family for many years has lived across the street from Mrs. Calvert.

&uot;She loved having neighbors and friends come to see her. She became frail toward the end, but she continued to respond with smiles at the appropriate times as you talked to her.&uot;

Katherine Killelea said the void left by Mrs. Calvert’s death will be a big one to all who knew her.

&uot;But I know she’s where she wants to be. She had a beautiful life.&uot;

Mrs. Killelea and others recalled the 100th birthday party held in the fall of 1999.

&uot;She had always said she wanted to have a street party with a brass band to celebrate her 100th birthday,&uot; Mrs. Killelea said.

&uot;And we did it. She had a wonderful time.&uot;

The Rev. Sam Tomlinson, assisting priest at Trinity Episcopal Church, visited Mrs. Calvert often, taking communion to her and listening to her talk about her prayer life.

&uot;You know, she was the granddaughter of an Episcopal minister who was rector at Trinity,&uot; he said.

Her grandfather was the Rev. Alexander Marks, who was rector of Trinity from 1873 to 1886.

&uot;She would tell me who she was praying for. She was a devout person.&uot;

Mimi DuPre, a cousin and friend, recalled Mrs. Calvert’s wonderful sense of humor and how she reacted to living for so many years.

&uot;She was ready to go and didn’t understand why she was still here. She said to me once, ‘I don’t think He wants me.’&uot;

Mrs. Calvert was born Oct. 8, 1899, in Bastrop, La.,the daughter of Emily Jane Feltus and Alexander Beckwith Marks.

Before her first birthday, her father died, and the family moved back to Natchez, where she attended school at the Natchez Institute.

She married Samuel Hornsby Calvert in 1925, and they lived on a plantation near Frogmore, La.

&uot;She came to Natchez often,&uot; said her son, John Randolph &uot;Randy&uot; Calvert. &uot;She participated in many Natchez activities.&uot;

Many will remember her as the first woman to serve on church vestry at Trinity. Others will recall her volunteer work with the Natchez City Cemetery and the Natchez Children’s Home.

Mrs. Calvert was preceded in death by her husband, who died in 1952 after the couple had been married for 27 years.

Mrs. Calvert also was preceded in death by her elder son, Samuel Hornsby Calvert Jr., known as &uot;Loff,&uot; who died in 1997.

A complete obituary, including date and time for the Friday funeral service and visitation as well as other family information, will be published on Thursday.