WEST POINT — Ms. Marie J. Welch, 92, of West Point, Ga. passed away on Sunday, January 7, 2018 at her residence.

Ms. Welch, the daughter of the late Solen and Gennie Marcus Johnson, was born May 4, 1925 in Chambers County,  Ala. At an early age she became a member of Sweet Home Baptist Church. After graduating from high school, she went on to obtain a nursing degree from the Booker T. Washington School of Practical Nursing and touched the lives of others through her 40-year passion for nursing.

Marie was preceded in death by her husband, Johnny Welch; son, Michael Welch; siblings, Pearl, Ora Lee, Evelyn, and Earnest.

Those left to mourn her are her daughter, Theresa Ward, West Point; sister, Rebecca Patterson and sister-in-law, Irene Johnson, both of Roanoke, Ala.; grandchildren Jamaica Autrey, Takia Huguley, Shantaya Welch and Shamara Wilkerson, along with 15 great grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other family members and friends.

Funeral services for Ms. Welch will be held on Saturday, January 13, 2018, 2 p.m. EST at the Evening Spring Baptist Church, Lanett, with the Rev. Elijah Jackson, pastor, and Rev. Joseph Hightower, eulogist, officiating. Interment will follow in the Pinehill Cemetery, Lanett.

The family will receive friends on Friday, January 12, 2018 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. EST at the M.W. Lee Mortuary. The remains will lie in state at the church on Saturday, January 13, 2018 from 1 p.m. EST until the funeral hour.

To express online condolences, please visit our website at www.mwleemortuary.com. Funeral arrangements entrusted to M.W. Lee Mortuary of West Point.