After a brief illness, Mary Dell Thomas Ingram peacefully passed away at West Georgia Hospice, Saturday, Dec. 8. Mary, the youngest of five children, was born in Rockingham, North Carolina on Aug. 2, 1929, to the late Brack Wilson and Eunice Hudson Thomas.

Mary was educated in Richmond County, North Carolina Schools and began her career as a bookkeeper at Hough Hardware in Rockingham.  Her late husband, Carl, was in the jewelry business and as his job took the family from North Carolina to New York, Texas, and Alabama and finally settling in West Point, Georgia, Mary continued working as a  bookkeeper in a variety of venues.

In 1973, Carl opened a jewelry store in Lanett and Mary joined him in the jewelry business, where she remained for 22 years. In 1975, the family purchased Lehmann Jewelry Company in LaGrange and operated it as Lehmann and Ingram Jewelers later dropping the Lehmann name and operating as Ingram Jewelers. The business continued to expand in 1978 when a third location was opened at West Georgia Commons Mall. Carl and Mary’s son, Jim and his wife, Janet, successfully ran the three stores until 1994, when both the mall and the Lanett stores were closed. Mary and Carl continued to operate the LaGrange store until retirement in 1997.

Retirement proved not to be for Mary. After Carl passed away in 2000, she reentered the world of retail and joined the Oswald Family as a part-time employee of the Shoe Outlet where she remained for fifteen years until a hip injury forced her to retire yet again.

“Miss Mary” as she was so lovingly called will be remembered for her dedication and love for family and friends, her gentle nature, her love and care of “homeless cats”, and her “smiling eyes”. Mary was a lady of many talents who never failed to tackle any task regardless of the difficulty. Her love of flowers, gardening, and decorating is evident to both visitors and passers-by. She called everybody “Hon” and always bade her good-byes with “I love you.” “Miss Mary” will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her.

Mary was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Carl; her only son, Jim; her parents; and her four siblings, B.W., Benjamin, Houston, and her only sister, Irene; nephews, Edward Thomas and Ben Thomas, Jr., and niece, Martha McMurray Ruggiano.

Mary is survived by three nephews; Bill Thomas (Lucile), Jerry Thomas (Barbara), Wilson; and four nieces, Rita Thomas Chance (Tony), Pat Thomas Smith, Jean Thomas Way, Susan McMurray and a number of great nieces and nephews.

A visitation honoring Mary’s life was held at West Point United Methodist Church on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A service celebrating Mary’s life will be held at Zion United Methodist Church in Rockingham, North Carolina on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, at 3 p.m. EST with burial following in the church cemetery.

The family requests that memorials be made to First United Methodist Church of West Point, 306 East 7 th Street, or West Georgia Hospice, 1510 Vernon Road, LaGrange, GA 30240.

For online condolences, visit www.blufftonfuneralservices.com.

Services have been entrusted to Bluffton Funeral Services in Lanett.