Eudora Welty was a diminutive woman in stature, but she stood as a giant in literary circles.

Mississippi – and in fact the nation – is mourning the loss of the reserved Welty who died Monday at the age of 92.

Welty won acclaim for her writing – among her accolades include the Pulitzer Prize, the Guggenheim Award and the National Medal for Literature – among dozens of others.

For literary critics and scholars around the world, Welty will be remembered through the lasting legacy of her work – the powerful written words written by a simple, but brilliant Southern lady.

But for Mississippians Welty will be remembered as one of us.

She was first and foremost a Mississippian. Welty loved her home state.

And Mississippians loved Welty. Even many who never read one of her written works knew who she was and how much a wonderful lady she was.

In addition to her work with pen and paper, Welty also made a lasting mark in history with her wonderful photographs during the Great Depression. Welty worked as part of the Works Progress Administration and traveled across Mississippi taking photographs and getting to know its people.

Perhaps Welty’s own words written at the end of &uot;One Writer’s Beginnings” best tell her legacy:

”As you have seen, I am a writer who came of a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.”