Marion C. Welsh

Betty Welsh, (91), died peacefully on June 6, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. Her service will be held at Parkway Funeral Home chapel in Ridgeland on Sunday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. with visitation prior to the service from 2:00 to 3:00. The Reverend Billy Dempsey of First Presbyterian Church will officiate.

Betty was born in Springfield, Louisiana to James E. Cullom and Winnie Lee Bishop Cullom. She attended Springfield High School, graduating as valediction, and attended Southeastern Louisiana University for one year before transferring to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge where she graduated with honors in Home Economics. She was an active member of the Phi Mu social sorority and later as an alumnus.

After graduation, Betty was a schoolteacher in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana before moving to Jackson, Mississippi where she was employed by Mississippi Valley Gas Company as a home economist. At Valley Gas, she met James W. Welsh, Jr. who she later married; they were married for 57 years before his death in 2012. Betty was active in the Women of the Church at First Presbyterian where she served as Circle Chairman and on many other committees, including the Flower Committee; she was in the Talisman Club; served as president of the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary; and actively volunteered at Gleaners with her husband. For years, she taught sewing during summer vacation to teenage girls in Jackson; was later a substitute teacher at Jackson Preparatory School; and she was an avid gardener and loved to arrange flowers. Always ready to open her home for a party or shower or to lend a hand to someone in need, Betty was celebrated for her generous spirit and hard working can-do attitude. Her strong Christian faith guided Betty throughout her long life, and she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister Evelyn Cullom Pettyjohn. Betty is survived by her dearly loved daughters and their families: Lisa Welsh Harris of Dallas, Texas and her two sons David Harris, wife Andrea and daughter Lina, and Andrew Harris; daughter Lynn Elizabeth Welsh of Ocean Ridge, Florida and son Forrest Gamba; daughter Alice Welsh Doyle of Birmingham, Alabama, husband Liam and son Declan Doyle. She is also survived by her nephews Gail Riley, Jim Palmer, and John Palmer and her nieces Beth Hendrix and Harriet Riley and their families.

Memorials may be made to The Volunteers of Gleaners, P.O. Box 9883, Jackson, MS 39286 and the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, P.O. Box 31954, Jackson, MS 39286.