Mary Leigh Furrh, age 91, died peacefully, with her family by her side on December 22, 2023. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 29, 1932, and was the daughter of Mary Bowden Hendee and Roy King Hendee.  She moved to Jackson with her husband, James B. Furrh, Jr., in 1954.  She graduated from Washington Seminary in Atlanta and attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.  She was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in English where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority.  She made her debut with the Atlanta Debutante Club.

Mary Leigh was food editor of Mississippi Magazine for 25 years, the co-author of four cookbooks and was a freelance writer of food and travel articles for national magazines and newspapers.  She was a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church where she was editor of The Covenant Cupboard Cookbook.  She was a member of the Junior League of Jackson, LeFleur Club, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Society of Mayflower Descendants, and the Colonial Dames of America, as well as several social clubs.  She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

She especially enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren.  Cooking was her passion and she liked nothing more than teaching her grandchildren to cook and trying out recipes with them.

She also enjoyed traveling with her husband to Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and much of North America.  Mary Leigh and her husband, Jim, shared their love of travel with their children and grandchildren by taking annual family vacations to the Caribbean and many areas of the United States. Her family loved her dearly and will miss her greatly. The family sends special thanks to her devoted caregivers, Katherine Johnson and Geraldine Reed, and the staff of St. Catherine's Village.

She is predeceased by her husband of over 50 years, James Brooke Furrh, Jr.; her brother, Roy King Hendee, Jr.; and sister-in-law Mary Furrh Cooke. Survivors include: sons, James Brooke Furrh, III of Madison, Roy Hendee Furrh and his wife, Kathy, of Jackson, and Leigh Hagan Furrh and his wife, Annie, of Atlanta, Georgia; grandchildren, James Brooke Furrh IV and his wife, Lauren, of Candler, North Carolina; Marshall Allen Furrh of Mandeville, Louisiana, Mary Ashton Furrh, Kendall Gilchrist Furrh, and Summer Holland Furrh of Madison; Leigh Coleman Furrh of Toronto, Canada, James Shepherd Furrh of Atlanta, and step-grandchildren Mary Kathryn Newton of New York City, Anne Abigail Newton of Austin, Texas, and Caroline Kennington Newton of Jackson; great granddaughter, Lorelei Marie Furrh, great grandson, James Magnus Furrh, of Candler, North Carolina; and sister-in-law, Ellen Hendee of Atlanta.

Visitation is at 10:00 a.m. and the Funeral Service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at Covenant Presbyterian Church located at 4000 Ridgewood Road in Jackson.

Burial and graveside service will be in the Elysian Fields cemetery in Elysian Fields, Texas, at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.

Memorials may be made to:  Palmer Home for Children, 800 Baldwin Road S., Lake Cormorant, MS 38641; Reformed Theological Seminary, 4268-I-55 North, Jackson, MS 39211; or Covenant Presbyterian Church, 4000 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211.