Monday, many gathered at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Grenada and at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Kilmichael to honor the life and memories of Mississippi Army Reserve National Guard Staff Sergeant Colby L. Marlow.
Marlow tragically lost his life on Monday, Nov. 22 in an automobile accident.
Marlow was a member of Vaiden Baptist Church, a 2019 graduate of Winona Christian School, and received his Associate's Degree at Holmes Community College. At the time of his death, he was a senior at Mississippi State University, Magna Cum Laude, and a Staff Sergeant in the Mississippi Army National Guard. He was a distinguished military graduate in the top ten percent in the nation, member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society, Student Veterans Association, Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and Co-Commander of Mississippi State University Army ROTC.
On Thanksgiving night, Marlow was memorialized during the 2021 Egg Bowl football game between his beloved Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels, and on Saturday evening, those who loved him gathered at the Winona Christian School football stadium, where he was once a standout athlete, for a candlelight vigil.
Winona Christian Stars Head Football Coach Junior Graham reflected on his years of coaching Marlow.
“He was one of the best. He was a well-rounded kid, well liked, and very respected on campus,” he said. “Colby wanted to do his very best. He was very competitive in the classroom and in sports. He wanted to excel to the highest level. Colby was that guy that what you saw is what you got. He was a good kid in and outside with a big heart. He was an all-around young man.”
Graham said when he received the call of Marlow’s death, it felt like he had been hit in the stomach.
“It was a shock. As a coach, that’s one of the worst phone calls I’ve ever received. When you coach kids, they’re always in your family. They may not understand it, but even when they graduate and leave, they’re still your family,” he said. “It was a very tough call to receive and to comprehend. We know that life can end in the blink of an eye, but when you lose someone that’s near and dear to you, it puts it into reality.”
He said he believed that Marlow was a citizen that anyone would be proud to serve and protect the United States of America.
“He was either going to have a long career in the military or in law enforcement and I believe that he would have been phenomenal in either capacity he chose,” he said.
Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker is a longtime family friend of the Marlow family.
“Watching Colby and [his twin brother] Cade grow up, I was amazed how they found joy in serving others,” he said. “Their service reminds me of a quote from John Wesley. ‘Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.’”
Colby is survived by his mother, Christy Costilow Marlow of Carrollton; father, Chris Marlow of Winona; sisters, Carlee Marlow of Winona, Cayle Marlow of Carrollton, and Bella Nabors of Winona; his twin brother, Cade Marlow of Carrollton; his girlfriend, Rebecca Christian of Greenwood; one nephew; and a host of aunts, uncles, and cousins.
