Garrett honored as Holmes Alumna of the Year
Holmes Community College will honor Maggie McCrory Garrett of Goodman as the 2023 Alumna of the Year which is among one of the college’s highest alumni honors. Garrett serves on the Holmes Development Foundation Board of Governors, is a member of the Holmes Legacy Club and a proud alum of the class of 1957.
Garrett will be awarded this honor during a presentation in McDaniel Hall Auditorium on Oct. 26. The presentation will be part of Holmes’ Homecoming festivities and Garrett will also be recognized on the field prior to the game against Northwest Community College.
Holmes was a natural fit for Garrett since it was just across the Big Black River in Goodman where she grew up. While attending Holmes, she was active in choir, the Wesley Foundation and was elected Sophomore Class Favorite and Mardi Gras Favorite.
After Holmes, Garrett attended Delta State where she earned a B.A. in English and French. She furthered her studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, The University of Mississippi and The Sorbonne in Paris, France.
Garrett is a retired teacher from the Mississippi school system. She starting her teaching career in Biloxi then continued teaching for Cheyenne High School in Wyoming. As a committed teacher, Garrett returned back to Mississippi to teach at Central Holmes Christian School and then finished with the Kosciusko School District. Beyond her retirement she taught for the United State Federal Prison in Yazoo City.
Garrett is a woman of many talents; she’s a talented musician, quilter, avid reader/author and gardener, but most of all Garrett is an accomplished artist and her talent began at Holmes. Shestudied under the late John Gaddis of Jackson; Marilyn Beth Hughes of Montana; Sally Phillips Buffington of San Antonio, Texas; Kevin Red Start of Robert’s Montana and Santa Fe New Mexico; Bonnie Conrad of Utah and Ned Mueller of Seattle, Washington. Garett has been chosen by the Mississippi Museum of Art to have some of her paintings hung in the museum. The Garrett collection of paintings can be found in businesses and homes across the country.
Some might even have met Garrett on their travels to Kosciusko as she was a longtime owner of the Red Bud Inn. The Red Bud inspired a book called “A Taste of the Red Bud” which was a collection of recipes from, the bed and breakfast that has sold all through the United States.
Garrett has called Attala County home, most of her life but Red Lodge, Montana holds a special place in her heart which is where she lived after her late husband, Tom, passed away. Garrett moved back to her Mississippi farm known as Seneasha Farms, with her family in 2014. She and her late husband Tom have four sons Bobby (deceased), Tommy (60), Todd (deceased) and Scott (54). Garrett has eight grandchildren and one great-grandson whom she enjoys watching grow up.
