Mary Alice Garner Bush

Mary Alice “Maggie” Garner Bush, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend departed this life surrounded by family on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. Visitation will be in the chapel of the Parkway Funeral Home, 1161 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, on Friday, June 19, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. followed by a celebration of life at 3:30 p.m.

The daughter of William Sutton Garner and Birdie Gifford Hill Garner, she was born in Ozark, Alabama, on July 30, 1925. After graduating from Ozark High School she moved to Montgomery, AL, to attend Huntingdon College where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in history. In 1946, after college, she married Charles Crawley Bush, a veteran of WWII, in Ozark. They began their married life in Atlanta, Georgia, where her husband earned a degree in electrical engineering at Georgia Tech. Subsequently, they lived in Natchez, Mississippi; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and settled in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1960. They were married 55 years, and lived and loved life together. They enjoyed their four children’s activities and were very involved as parents and grandparents. In addition to managing her busy household, she and her husband, Charlie, enjoyed gardening and traveled frequently with the National Camellia Society as exhibitors and judges. Mary Alice’s rich, full life was filled with opportunities for service at the churches she loved. She and Charles were members of Broadmeadow United Methodist Church and Christ United Methodist Church. . Maggie was a competitive bridge player and served in several leadership positions in Petrol, Las Camerados, and the Heatherwood Bridge Clubs.

Mary Alice joined the Daughters of the American Revolution at the age of 34. She has always been a member in good standing. She served while living in Natchez and in Jackson. While in Jackson she served in various positions of her local Chapter of Fort Rosalie.

Maggie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her brother, Gifford Sutton Garner, and her sister-in-law, Betty Bush Turk. She is survived by her four children: daughters Becky Greer (Steve), Barbara Gatlin (Clayton), both of Madison; sons Dr. Charles Bush (Karen) of Ridgeland, and Dr. Bill Bush (Amy), of Jackson; ten grandchildren: Clay Gatlin (Ashley), of Tuscaloosa, AL; Suzanne Guild (Dr. Cameron); Dr. Stephen Greer (Emily), Brad Gatlin (Kelley), and Amanda Bush Puckett (Hastings), all of Ridgeland; Katherine Gatlin Shelton (Rustin); Emily Bush O’Grady (Michael), and Melissa Bush Liles (Leighton), both of Nashville, TN; Garner Bush and Blair Bush, both of Jackson; fourteen great grandchildren: Allie Gatlin, Sandon Guild, Christian Shelton, Peyton Puckett, Maddox Greer, Alex Guild, Mary Crisler Gatlin, Parker Puckett, Pearson Greer, Barron Gatlin, Frances Gatlin, Robert Shelton, Garrett Shelton, and Eloise O’Grady; one brother, William Stanley Garner (Mary), and sister-in-law, Ann Kolb Garner, both of Ozark, AL; and several nieces and nephews.

She often reminded her children to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” A Billy Graham quote, which exemplified Maggie, states, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” Thank you, Mother, for your example of a life well-lived.