Heaven's light shone a bit brighter in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, March 2, 2021. God called His faithful, loving servant, Darlene Pinson, to her Heavenly home.

Darlene was born on September 25, 1940 in Lyman, MS to Earl H. and Fredna Scarbrough. Darlene attended Perkinston Junior College in Perkinston, MS and later completed her degree in Education from Chapman University in Anaheim, CA in 1980. All while being a military wife, moving around the country and raising a family. She taught school in California and Virginia. After moving to Pensacola in 1984, she became the Children's Director at Olive Baptist Church and served in that position for fourteen years. Darlene was a member of Olive for 37 years and was most recently a member of the Grace Sunday School Class. During her tenure at Olive Baptist Church, her Godly influence on children and countless individuals is still evident today. One of her first adventures at Olive was learning how to drive an old, ugly church bus. She had never even driven a van, but she did know how to drive a stick shift. Darlene, like her husband, was an avid tennis player and a longtime member of the Greater Pensacola Ladies Tennis League. Darlene loved her tennis team and made many lifelong friendships. She loved to travel and went on 2 mission trips to Ghana and the Holy Land and visited Spain, Italy, and Panama. She was the biggest cheerleader of her grandchildren and never missed an opportunity to attend a baseball game, cheerleading competition, or volleyball tournament. After retirement, she served on the Ministry Village Board of Olive Baptist Church. She also ministered to the Charis House ladies who, in turn, ministered to her.

Darlene is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Lt. Col. Joseph W. Pinson USMC (ret.) and her brothers, Arlan and Ronnie.

She is survived by her children, Kyle (Debbie) Pinson, Lauren (Ralph) Lee and Melissa (Jeff) Hatch; grandchildren, Lindsey (Zack) Stinnett, Jared Hatch, and Madison Hatch; her precious great-grandchildren, Marshall and Maggie Stinnett; her sister, Sandra (Bill) Spears; sister-in-law, Helen Scarbrough and brother-in-law, James (Celeste) Pinson.

Visitation will be held 4-6pm Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel. Funeral service will be held 12:00noon Thursday, March 11, 2021 at Olive Baptist Church, Pensacola, with Dr. Ted Traylor officiating. The family will receive friends at Olive Baptist Church one hour prior to the service. Private family interment will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery.

Honorary pallbearers will be Skip Butler, Kerry Donald, Joe Murphy, Crawford Odom, Huey Pearson and Greg Price.

A special thank you to the nurses and staff at Covenant Hospice at West Florida Hospital and the nurses and staff at Summer Vista.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ministry Village at Olive Baptist Church, 1836 E. Olive Rd., Pensacola, FL 32514 or online at Olivebaptist.org