Attorney Crystal Lynn Welch remembered and honored

JANS – On December 20, 2025, Crystal Lynn Welch’s life was celebrated at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Jackson with prayer and music. 

Although attorney Welch’s journey on earth was short – born December 17, 1981 and passing on May 11, 2024 – she was a role model. Welch was a remarkable lady, spending her life advocating for youth and equal rights for all. 

In addition to working as an Associate Clinical Professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, she served as president of the ACLU of Mississippi and board president for the Mississippi Free Press. In 2020, her voice was among those successfully advocating for the retirement of the old Confederate themed state flag and replacing it with one representing all state residents. 

She loved the Lord, expressing it through her actions as she sang during church services on Sundays, and prayed for and visited the sick in the community. 

Calling her “a native daughter of Jackson,” Mayor John Horhn is among those honoring her important contributions to Mississippians. His  proclamation states, in part: “WHEREAS, Crystal’s life and legacy of courage, compassion, scholarship, and service continue to inspire a new generation of leaders committed to justice, equality, and love for Mississippi and its people … I, John Horhn, Mayor of the City of Jackson, Mississippi, do hereby honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Crystal L. Welch and extend gratitude of the City of Jackson to her family, friends, students, and colleagues for sharing her remarkable gifts with our community and for carrying forward the work to which she dedicated her life.”