Lillian "Lily" Dalton, 56: Wellness coach

Four years ago, Mary Henry of Marietta and Mrs. Dalton met in a Bible-study class at North Metro Church. Recently, several months had passed since the friends had seen each other.

When they did, Mrs. Henry was impressed. Her gardening buddy glowed.

"The main thing I noticed was the difference in her skin," Mrs. Henry said. "Her skin looked younger. It was sort of like she'd been plugged into an electric socket, and had all this energy. She'd become much more alive."

Mrs. Dalton's experience with Isagenix led to what her husband called her "pretend job." She became a wellness coach who marketed Isagenix items.

For her, though, it was about health and well-being, not the potential paycheck.

"The thing that was great about Lil was she didn't go out and approach people about Isagenix," Mrs. Henry said. "That wasn't her thing. If they'd ask her, she'd tell them about it. When people saw her, they could tell she was vibrant. Everybody thought she was in her 40s, and she was 56. "

On Dec. 3, Mrs. Dalton saw a doctor for having days-old chest pain. An ultrasound detected suspicious cells in her liver, pancreas and lungs. Pancreatic cancer. In late December, an oncologist gave her from two days to two weeks to live.

On Feb. 6, Lillian "Lily" Dalton died at her home in Acworth. The funeral will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Carmichael Funeral Home in Marietta, which is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Dalton was born in Battle Creek, Mich. She and her husband were sweethearts at Lenape Regional High School in Medford, New Jersey. After high school, he joined the Air Force and was bound for Europe.

"She said, ‘Let's get married,'" her husband said, "and we got married June 25, 1971."

In her husband's words, Mrs. Dalton was a "kept woman."

"She never even pumped gas," he said, jokingly. She kept an immaculate house, though.

"She'd get up, have some sort of healthy drink, watch a little news and clean the house," he said. "She was a clean freak. Everything was pristine. Then she'd go to a local gym, meet with her friends there and network the rest of the day."

Mrs. Henry and Mrs. Dalton became business partners. Two summers ago, they attended an Isagenix conference in Las Vegas. Mrs. Dalton wasn't a pushy seller; her healthy glow sold product.

"As a cleanse coach, she set you up and answered questions," Mrs. Henry said. "She loved to research nutrition. That was her thing. And she had a great exercise ethic."

After her cancer diagnosis, Mrs. Dalton didn't slow down. She exercised and researched ways to combat cancer.

"Every book that I am looking at on the shelf has to do with health wellness," her husband said, "and how to beat cancer. She prayed for two months and she got two more months to live. She lived a good life."

Survivors other than her husband include a son, Jesse Dalton of Dallas; her mother, Ann Harper of Seneca, S.C.; three sisters, Maggie Borklund of Greenville, S.C.; Cathy Horton of Ohio and Shirley Foster of Seneca, S.C.; a brother, Robert Harper of New Jersey; and three grandchildren.