Mary Wayne Dixon

"Flowers Can Always Make A Girl Happy”

Mary Wayne Dixon passed away peacefully at her home in the late evening of September 17, 2025, with her daughter Ginger by her side. Mary Wayne lived every day to the fullest to create a legacy of beauty, courage, strength and philanthropy that will endure for many generations. Although her health declined in her final years, she persevered with grace, serving as an inspiration to her family and world-wide circle of friends.

An Atlanta native, Mary Courts Wayne was the only child of Mary Courts and William Tucker Wayne, founder of Tucker Wayne & Co., the region’s premier advertising agency. Born at the height of the blooming season on May 2, 1939, she was named after her grandmother, Mary “Mamee” Courts, who planted Morning Glories on the Waynes’ mailbox, thereby cultivating in the young child a lifelong love of and appreciation for plants and flowers.

Growing up on Habersham Road, young Mary attended E. Rivers Elementary School and Washington Seminary (the precursor to NAPS and The Westminster Schools), from which she graduated in 1957. She attended Mount Vernon College in Washington DC for two years and completed her education at The University of Alabama, where she joined the Kappa Delta sorority and graduated with a BA in English. Upon returning to Atlanta, Mary met Bill Dixon, a dashing young W&L graduate from Richmond, at a Debutante party. They married in 1962 and welcomed their daughter, Ginger, four years later.

Mary was tremendously proud of the success of her father’s business and was excited to join the Agency. After her father’s untimely death in an automobile accident in 1963, Mary decided to add “Wayne” to her first name and became Mary Wayne Dixon. At this time, Bill was invited to join the Agency and helped continue the family legacy for the next 25 years.

Mary Wayne then turned her considerable talents to the gardening and floral world, creating gardens and arrangements of lasting beauty. She never lost the enthusiasm for garden plants which her grandmother instilled in her…favorites included Daisies, Peonies and Camellias, and she eagerly learned the Latin names for so many of them from her dear friend, the late Ryan Gainey. With another friend, the late Pat Hartrampf, she formed the Franklinia Society, which provided seed money for the Southeastern Flower Show, precursor to the Atlanta Flower Show, now held at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden became a very important part of Mary Wayne’s life. She first became involved with the Garden in 1979, when their offices were housed in a trailer! She joined the Board and remained a Lifetime Trustee and was known as “the Spirit” of the Garden for decades! The trio of Mary Wayne, the late Ryan Gainey and Tom Woodham launched the ABG’s first garden tour on Mother’s Day weekend in 1983, the Gardens For Connoisseurs Tour. She organized national and international trips for the Garden for ten years and served as president of the ABG’s Associates in 1988, but she found her most satisfying contribution was chairing the annual Garden of Eden Ball in 1989 and, as Ball Advisor, continued to oversee the details of this beloved event for 25 years. In addition, she was a member of Planters Garden Club and served on the Board of the Cherokee Garden Library at the Atlanta History Center.

Other longtime hobbies included reading about and visiting botanical gardens throughout the world, reading with a monthly book club and cooking a perfect chocolate soufflé. She loved travel, especially to Paris, Morocco and Ireland, took both of her grandsons on cruises to Spain and Alaska, and traveled to Africa twice. A most special destination was Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where she and Bill had a home since 1988 and shared many happy times with family and friends. Their 4th of July parties were and are legendary!

Like her mother, Mary Wayne possessed the best qualities of a “Southern Belle”…she was clever and warm and enjoyed entertaining. She was known to have a good memory for names and dates and was a good judge of character. She was the planner and doer for parties and trips for her family and for the Botanical Garden. Through all of this, she was also an affectionate and influential mother to Ginger, generous with advice and guidance.

Mary Wayne was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where she served on the Altar Guild. In later years, she and Bill were longtime supporters of The Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta and Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra.

Mary Wayne is survived by her daughter, Virginia Wayne Dixon (partner, Marcus Morris), and her two grandsons, William Dixon Molloy and Tucker Wayne Molloy. She was close to her cousins and their children who will all miss her: Richard

(Linda) Courts, their four children: Malon (Sarah); Richard Courts IV (Lane); Brad (Meredith) and Clay (Missy). Additional survivors include her cousin, Elaine Courts Coolidge Dyer and her two children, Courts Coolidge (Becky) and Vaughn Coolidge. She was predeceased by her husband William Walker Dixon, her first cousin Rebecca Ann Wayne, Virginia Wayne Beaumont and Clifford Wayne.

The family is grateful to her wonderful caregivers for their friendship and loving care of Mary Wayne: Tasha Ford, Vora Frame, Marilyn Angelethy, Nan Davis, Michele Michel, Kumba Yomba and Fanta Kanu.

A memorial service will be held at the Cathedral of St. Philip at 11:00 am on Friday, October 3, 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, or the Cherokee Garden Library, 130 West Paces Ferry Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30305 (or contact: SCatron@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com).