Mary Anne Welch

Mary Anne Welch, originally of Water Valley, passed from this life in the early hours of Friday, May 16, 2025. Born Mary Anne Kendrick to Fred and Mary Kendrick, she would be called by many names throughout her life – nicknames of Ken, Mag, Mak, M.A., Miss Mary, and Hey Lady; married names of Mary Anne Graham and Mary Anne Welch, Mom and Mother to her children Dennis, Dan, and Kasi, Grammie and most famously, simply "G" to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Known to be fashionable and to always have an interesting story to tell, Water Valley served as the backdrop to many colorful stories about growing up as one of four daughters to the banker in small town Mississippi. She will be buried there alongside her parents.
Mary Anne married twice, first to Dennis Graham, Sr, in 1956 with whom she had her three children Dennis, Dan, and Kasi, and then she married Scotty Welch. She enjoyed multiple careers in banking, advertising, and film; she served as president of the American Lawyer's Alliance in 2002-2003, where she is credited amongst other successes as teaching the ALA members to drink mint juleps. When her first grandchild was born in 1986, Mary Anne assumed what she would tell you was her most important career – as "the G" to her four granddaughters, Lauren Graham, Emily Dillard (nee Graham), Lucy Kay Jones (nee Sumrall), and Chloe Sumrall. She leaves a legacy of joy, laughter, and adventure.
Mary Anne was predeceased by her husbands Dennis Graham Sr and Scotty Welch, her son Dan Graham, her parents, and her sister Lucy Lea Sellers. She is survived by her sisters Emily Wilbourne Rardin and Ben Hussman, and her children Dennis Graham and Kasi Beck (Tom), her grandchildren Lauren Graham, Emily Dillard (Will), Lucy Kay Jones (Abram), and Chloe Sumrall, and her great grandchildren Maggie, Wyatt, Rex, and Mabel. Special thanks to her caregiver LaTaunia Catchings.