She was born on February 23, 1942, the eldest daughter of Edgar Wall Stuart and Lucy Culver Stuart and was known for her devotion to family and friends, boundless Southern hospitality, penchant for mischief, and calling everybody ‘Daaahlin.’ A true daughter of the South, she carried the grace and traditions of her Montgomery roots with her throughout her life. She was a graduate of Sydney Lanier High School (Class of 1960) and attended Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA.
The Stuart family had a magical vacation home on the Alabama Gulf Coast, called Pleasure Point, overlooking Perdido Bay. Lou loved the beach. The eldest of four daughters, Lou led her sisters, Stuart cousins, and friends along many beach adventures. In her youth and later with her children and grandchildren, she spent countless hours at Perdido - fishing, boating, entertaining family and friends, water skiing, crabbing, shrimping, spotting Ospreys and chasing Dolphins.
Lou’s greatest love was her husband, Andrew Jay Garry. They met on a blind date, on the snowy steps of the Delta Phi fraternity house, steps away from Jay’s Alma mater, Georgetown University. That began a 61-year love story filled with great adventures adored by their three beautiful daughters, Lucy, Lynn and Kate.
Truly the hostess with the mostest, Lou and Jay entertained family, friends and colleagues year-round. Their Saint Patrick’s Day and Kentucky Derby parties were legend. A delight of Merrill Lynch clients and colleagues, Georgetown Alumni, Christ the King parishioners, neighbors and myriad friends, a party at the Garry’s, in Atlanta, or their coastal home at Perdido, ‘Snug Harbor,’ was not to be missed.
Mary Lou possessed a rare and radiant gift for connection; she truly never met a stranger and made friends everywhere she went. From the folks at the grocery store and pharmacy, to the local cleaners and librarian, she treated everyone with the same genuine interest and warmth. To many, she was more than a friend; she was a ‘surrogate Mom,’ opening her heart and providing a soft place to land for countless children over the years.
Lou also loved corresponding with family and friends. Lou and Jay wrote hundreds of letters to each other. She had beautiful handwriting and was a gifted story teller. Lou never forgot a birthday and had a meticulous filing system for birthday cards. She loved giving people the perfect card.
She shared her vision as a member of the advisory board for her Alma mater, Mary Baldwin College, supported the Georgetown University mission through decades of volunteer service and brought holiday magic to the community through the Junior League’s ‘Festival of the Trees.’
Mary Lou was an active member of the Christ the King Cathedral for 53 years and volunteered at Christ the King School for decades. She was a popular fixture in the school clinic, always ready with a Kleenex, Band-Aid, cool cloth, and a hand as warm as toast.
Mary Lou’s wit, grace and unwavering kindness will be deeply missed by all who knew her. Whether through the preservation of the waters she loved, the children she nurtured, or the wake left behind the TriStar and Mer-1, her legacy of love and service will continue to bloom and flow.
Mary Lou is survived by her daughters Lucy Garry Flinn (Peter Ramsay Tanham), Lynn Garry Muller (John Crawford Muller), and Kathryn Garry Wadley (David Conan Wadley) and six grandchildren, Lucy Elizabeth Flinn, William Stuart Flinn, Sophia Louise Flinn, John Crawford Muller III, Robert Andrew Muller and James Garry Muller (Caroline Gardner Muller). She is also survived by her sisters, Lucy (Sis) Stuart Lee (William Lovard Lee, III) of Dothan, AL, Helen Stuart Forward of Mobile, AL, Amelia Stuart Cook (Eugene Cosby Cook) and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30303 or Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The family will receive friends on Monday, January 19, 2026 beginning at 1:30 pm with the funeral service at 3:00 pm at H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Rd., NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park.
