It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Betty Ann Bagby Walch. A devoted sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother, and cherished friend, Betty passed away peacefully on November 15, 2025, at the age of ninety in Mobile, Alabama.
Born on October 17, 1935, in Buford, Georgia, she was the daughter of William H. and Marcelle Elaine Grogan Bagby. She grew up on Mobile Bay where she loved to swim and sail. After graduating from Fairhope High School, she began her career in her father’s hardware store, W. M. Bagby & Son Painters & Decorators in Fairhope. During this time, she felt called deeply to her faith and even prepared to join a convent before meeting the man who would become her husband. Together, they shared a beautiful life and raised seven children.
Betty will be remembered for her unwavering faith, her warmth, strength, humor, and love of baking. She dedicated her life to her family and was always present with a loving smile, a warm embrace, and a kiss to heal every ill, scrape, bump, and bruise. After raising four boys and three girls, she continued her life of nurturing by helping care for and educate her grandchildren and the children of close friends. Betty loved football, cheeseburgers, Hallmark movies, and Nicholas Sparks books, but being a mother and grandmother was her greatest joy.
Betty was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Frederick E. Walch III, her parents, William and Marcelle Bagby, her daughter, Elizabeth Ashley Emrich (Ron), and her nephew, Scott Bagby.
She is survived by her brother, William Bagby (Pat) of Belforest, her children, Frederick E. Walch IV, Kevin Tracy Walch (Kathy), Kelly Kimble Walch (Misti), Kyle Mitchell Walch (Tracy), Michele Karlene Vesely (Greg) and Michael Drew Walch (Dianna), and Kimberly Parker Walch;Her nine grandchildren, Ronald Chad Emrich, Mathew Ryan Walch of Ocean Springs, MS, Jason Kyle Vesely (Lauren) of Loxley, Colt Mitchell Walch (Kaelyn) of Bay Minette, Elizabeth Grace Volovecky (Bryant) of Fairhope, Seth Mitchell Earl Walch (MaKayla) of Wiggins, MS, Taylor Marcelle Vesely (Jacob) of Spanish Fort, Eli Kennedy Walch of Birmingham, and Trusler Drew Walch of Silverhill;
Her eight great-grandchildren, Lucille Mae Vesely, Marcelle Anne Vesely, Callie Lynn Emrich, Camryn Ashley Emrich, Estelle Rae Vesely, Violet Rianne Walch, Henry Paul Walch, and Tate Lawson Earl Walch; Her niece, Susan Bagby Dunbar (Clyde), great-nephew, Caz Earnest Dunbar (Sarah), and her lifelong friend, Michelle Byerley Byrd.
A memorial service will be held at Radney Funeral Home on November 19, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Abba Shrine Hospital Transportation Fund in her honor, 7701 Hitt Road, Mobile, AL 36695.
Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com.
