Margaret Ellen “Maggie” Horan Webb, 86, of Marion, passed away peacefully at home on April 15, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.
Born on July 27, 1939, in Sycamore, Illinois, she was the daughter of Colonel Earl Campbell Horan of New York and Margaret Page Ellis of Mississippi. Maggie graduated from Marion High School in 1957 and attended Auburn University, where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in 1961, and her thesis paintings garnered national attention, traveling across the United States.
In 1961, she married Samuel Emert Henry of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The couple first lived on Dauphin Island, where she was commissioned by the Port of Mobile to illustrate monthly magazine covers and contributed watercolors for department store advertisements in women’s fashion. They later moved to Columbus, Georgia, where they welcomed three of their five children.
Maggie returned to her hometown of Marion in 1969, where she continued to thrive as an artist following the tragic passing of her husband in 1976. She became known for her portraits and watercolors, establishing a strong presence in the regional art community. In 1979, she was hired by Marion Military Institute to develop an arts program, teaching drawing, calligraphy, and art history. She also held a part-time teaching position at Judson College.
In 1982, she married John Calhoun “JC” Webb of Marion, who later adopted her three youngest children. She fondly referred to him as the “love of her life,” a joy that was cut short by his death four years later.
Margaret continued to expand her artistic horizons, studying Chinese watercolor and calligraphy in Beijing in 1987. Her legacy includes large-scale murals in Demopolis and Marion, a mosaic in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Selma, and numerous portraits for school presidents and private collectors across the United States. She was also active in her community, serving as a board member of the Cahaba Trace Commission.
She is survived by her daughter, Margaret Page Henry Jackson and husband James A. Jackson of Marion; her sons, John Richmond “Winkie” Webb and wife Mary Alison, and Stanley Horan “Potee” Webb and wife Gerri Richardson; her grandsons, Atkins, Cal, Henry, and Campbell; and her granddaughter, Mary Clanton.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Sam Henry; her second husband, JC Webb; her sons, Ashley Gray Henry and Robert Campbell Webb; her brother, Earl Campbell Horan Jr.; and her half-siblings, James and Sally Horan.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at St. Wilfrid’s Episcopal Church in Marion, followed by a reception at the family home, The Camellias.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Wilfrid’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Drawer 339, Marion, Alabama 36756, or to the Marion Veterinary Clinic, 26 Henry Street, Marion, Alabama 36756.
