Graveside services for Mary Ella Graham, age 90 of Ruston, LA will be held at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Kilpatrick Memorial Garden. Burial will follow under the direction of Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Ruston. Visitation will be held at the funeral home Tuesday from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM.
Mary was born July 13, 1935 in Lake City, AR to Opal McFarland Gadberry and Lois Hope Gadberry and passed away Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Monroe, LA. She started pre-pharmacy school but she dropped out to support her husband, A.G. Graham, while he attended Dental School. After his graduation, Dr. Graham started his dental practice in Arcadia, LA where Mary worked as the office manager and bookkeeper. She always supported her husband whole heartedly. After the dental practice was moved to Ruston, she and her brother, Billy began breeding Greyhounds for the race track. She really enjoyed this the rest of her life.
When Mary was not working, she was a mother. To her children she was more than a mother, she was the heart and soul of the family. She was a minister’s daughter and she lived it; a very Christian person always loving others and a very giving person that would help others in need. Mary enjoyed watching Perry Mason, cooking cobblers and pies, and adopting dogs, especially Doberman’s. She loved listening to country music and to travel. Mary also owned and operated Graham Properties, an apartment complex.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband A.G. Graham; son, Steven Craig Graham; brothers, Oral Gene Gadberry, Billy Dean Gadberry, and Gerald Stanley Gadberry.
Mary is survived by her sons, Larry Kent Graham of Ruston, LA and Michael Wayne Graham and wife Cindy of Baton Rouge, LA; sister, Ellen Gibbons of Monette, AR; several special nieces; and a host of other family and friends.
