GALLATIN, Tennessee, September 21, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)—Mary Bernadette Kimball, a 22-year-old pro-life activist, died unexpectedly of natural causes on September 10.

She was a pro-life missionary with Stand True Pro-Life Outreach for 15 months and was planning to start nursing school this fall.

“Mary was a peaceful and quiet southern girl through and through, but she would surprise you with her boldness and spunk,” her close friend, Kate Prain, told LifeSiteNews via email. “She was very laid back, always finding beauty in the little joys of life. … She was a well-balanced person who gave herself fully in the present moment.”

Despite many differences, “One thing that we did have in common was our passion for defending life. That is what shaped us into best friends,” Prain said.

“Mary had a passion for life by not only trying to live her life to the fullest, but by also defending life in a bold way,” Prain explained. “Originally, Mary and I were only planning on staying for a summer at Stand True, but we both found passion and purpose in defending the pre-born, so we decided to stay on throughout the year and an additional summer. We loved it!”

Prain said Kimball was “truly the most natural sidewalk counselor I have ever seen in my life. She picked it up so quickly. The words that she said to the men and women going into the abortion clinic were so loving and perfect. Her voice projection, clarity, and body language were impeccable. There's no mistaking that Mary was there to love these people and meet them where they were at.”

“I think she saw the children in the womb as her spiritual brothers and sisters, and fought to defend them and be their voice,” Prain said. “I'm sure her grandma, Mary Jane Kimball, who waited for Mary to arrive before she left the earth, had a guiding hand in her namesake's life, but I think that Mary was deeply, personally, motivated, too. (Her grandmother helped form Tennessee Volunteers for Life).”

Kimball was involved with the pro-life club at Asbury University and organized its first trip to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. According to Prain, she was also the president of the pro-life club at John Paul II High School.

Prain provided LifeSiteNews with a list Kimball wrote of her life goals a few weeks before she died.

The first item was “to be close to God and serve Him always.” According to the list, she also wanted to get married and “be a foster mom and adopt and have biological kids,” “help orphans and abandoned kids,” and “be a medical missionary.”

Kimball’s funeral and burial were on September 16 at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Gallatin.

“She truly had the biggest servant's heart,” Prain said.