By Katie Ginn
In a black-and-white photo taken in 1950, an 8-year-old boy in short pants smirks at the camera, chin jutted out with pride like he owns the world. Perhaps he does, in a way, as the “baby” of his large family.
Fast forward 75 years or so, and what makes retired Judge Tom Lee poke his chest out with pride is that very same thing: family. You can see it in another photo of Judge Tom, now a grandfather, with his son Stewart (aka Tom II) and Stewart’s son Tom III, at an MC baseball game in Clinton.
Now in its 200th year and rechristened as Mississippi Christian University, MC (formerly Mississippi College) has enjoyed a connection with the Lee family for four generations – or, more notably, for over half of the university’s existence. Judge Tom’s father, Judge Percy Lee, graduated in 1911!
All of Percy Lee’s children, including Tom, graduated from MC. Tom’s kids Stewart and Elizabeth followed suit, and Tom III just graduated from MC this year.
Why the MC loyalty? It’s not the crepe myrtles, the campus life, or the community, though those are all great. It’s the Christian education and environment. Christian in the truest sense.
For young people learning to live independently, think critically, and discern where God might be leading them next – all while their frontal lobes are still developing! – a university centered on Jesus can be an enormous gift.
That gift would be easy to take for granted as an MC “legacy” student. But for these members of the Lee family, familiarity has only bred a greater love for their alma mater.
Meet the Lees
Judge Tom Lee
- Graduated from MC in 1963; English major; member of Choctaws basketball team
- Member of MC Sports Hall of Fame
- Retired in June 2026 after serving 42 years as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi; was appointed by President Ronald Reagan
- Serves on MC Board of Trustees
Norma Ruth Robbins Lee
- Graduated from Blue Mountain Christian University (then Blue Mountain College) in 1962; speech and English major; president of student government association; participated in student theatre
- Taught at Forest High School for five years; has served on the Community Bank board of directors for more than 40 years
- Former president of MC’s baseball booster club
- Serves on Board of Trustees for Blue Mountain Christian University
Tom and Norma Ruth have been active members of Forest Baptist Church for over 50 years. Norma Ruth is a longtime facilitator of the church’s Women’s Missionary Union (WMU) program and directed nearly 250 weddings as part of the church’s wedding committee. She and Tom sang in the choir for over 50 years, and Tom taught a men’s Sunday school class for 55 years.
Elizabeth Lee Maron
- Graduated from MC in 1991; English major; member of Lady Choctaws tennis team; editor of The Mississippi Collegian
- Partner, Adams & Reese, Ridgeland
David Maron
- Graduated from MC in 1992; political science and math major; member of Choctaws track and cross-country teams
- General counsel, Community Bank
- Serves as a trustee of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, in addition to numerous roles with legal and banking organizations
Elizabeth and David are active members of First Baptist Jackson, where they taught sixth-grade Sunday school from 2016-2019, and David has served in various leadership positions, including his current role on the deacon nominating committee.
Stewart Lee (Tom II)
- Graduated from MC in 1998; history major; member of Choctaws baseball team; president of student government
- Member of MC Sports Hall of Fame; has served on MC Alumni Board and is a past M Club president
- Administrative law judge at Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission
Heather Davidson Lee
- Graduated from MC in 1998; social work major
- Realtor, Hometown Property Group
- Has served on PTO at Madison schools, currently at Madison Central High School
Tom Lee III
- Graduated from MC in 2026; biology and medical sciences major; member of Choctaws baseball team; served as a Choctaw Ambassador
- Starting medical school at UMMC this fall
Stewart, Heather, and Tom III are members of Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison, where they have attended for over 20 years. Stewart and Heather have led children’s and middle-school life groups. Heather has hosted high-school Bible studies and served at Wow Week and other leadership roles, and Stewart has served as a deacon.
Basketball, booster parents, and superior education
Stewart Lee, representing the middle generation of MC alumni here today, says that “Papaw” Percy Lee – his grandfather and Judge Tom’s father – “believed in the mission of the school.” That’s a big reason why all eight of Percy’s kids attended MC.
As the youngest of those eight, Judge Tom grew up attending Choctaw football games and knew what to expect when he enrolled. But again – that familiarity hasn’t stopped him from praising MC left and right over the years.
“I received a splendid education here,” Judge Tom says. “It was a requirement to take (Old and New Testament courses), which was beneficial to me. We had chapel every week, and there would be a speaker on a Christian-related subject. A number of the teachers shared their faith with me.”
Also, “I very much enjoyed playing basketball. Our team one year not only led the nation in scoring, but we set a record that I think has never been equaled. I think we averaged 114 points a game.”
(Editor’s note: Many of those games would’ve been played in Alumni Gym, in the same building where we’re sitting for this conversation. Today in that gym, the raucous sounds of team-building games at the Super Summer teen leadership conference served as a joyful backdrop for this interview.)
One of Judge Tom’s favorite people at MC was Van “Doc” Quick, a longtime administrator who served as Vice President for Alumni and Student Affairs when Stewart attended. Both men described Quick as a beloved, impactful leader. Judge Tom also mentions P.I. Lipsey Jr. and his wife, Sue Price Lipsey (history and English respectively) as examples of the “outstanding” faculty he encountered.
Judge Tom’s wife, Norma Ruth, attended MC’s “sister school,” Blue Mountain Christian University, which at that time was an all-girls’ school still known as Blue Mountain College. Like MC, Blue Mountain is a Baptist university, and the two schools are mutually supportive.
When Norma Ruth went on to grad school at The University of Mississippi, where Tom was getting his law degree, a mutual friend said, “You need to meet Tom Lee. (Coming from MC and Blue Mountain), y’all just have the same framework and thinking.”
“That friend was part of a group who made sure we met each other,” Norma Ruth recalls. “So I think that was providential.”
Though Norma Ruth never attended MC, she has seized every moment as an MC parent and grandparent. “I loved coming over here when my children were here and just spying on them,” she says, laughing. She and Judge Tom never missed Elizabeth’s tennis matches or Stewart’s baseball games.
In fact, “(Norma Ruth) was president of the baseball booster club,” Judge Tom points out. Not a role usually held by a woman!
“She was a force,” Stewart adds. Norma Ruth just chuckles, a twinkle in her eye.
A loss, a bear hug, and a big trip
David Maron, who married into the Lee family, came to MC from Connecticut on a track and cross-country scholarship. “The main draw was that it was a Christian school. What I had not expected was the rigorous academics,” David says.
“Dr. Billy Hicks, my political science professor … I don’t even really know what his politics were, but (his class) was just rigorous and made you think. (Dr. Hicks) couldn’t stand somebody who would just spout off a short answer. He’d dig in and say, why do you believe that?”
“And (I took) Old Testament with Dr. Joe Cooper, who also taught logic. Some of these professors, they really helped shape (my) worldview.”
For David, MC’s impact extended beyond the classroom when he lost his father as a sophomore.
“I was a thousand miles away from home. I got a note on my dorm-room door to go see the dean of men, General Coleman. He was a retired Army helicopter pilot. His office was at the corner of Nelson Hall, and it was (after hours). There were no classes or students.”
“I just remember going there alone, and feeling alone, and walking out, and there was this guy, Mickey McMillan, an offensive lineman from Scott County, (and) he just gave me a big bear hug. And I can still point out the (place) in the hallway where (that happened).”
“And the school let me go home and take care of business and (make up the classes I missed).”
On a happier note, David met Elizabeth Lee, his future wife, at MC. The two would start dating in law school – but as undergrads?
“I ran for student-body president, and Elizabeth introduced my opponent,” David says. The room erupts with laughter.
Stewart pipes up: “I never heard that one. That’s a secret kept in the marriage, I think.”
“I didn’t win the election, but I won the lottery (in Elizabeth),” David quips.
For her part, Elizabeth didn’t become a third-generation MC student by default.
“I did look at some other schools and made sure (I wanted to attend MC). I did love the fact that my dad’s family had all come here,” she says. “It (also) offered me the ability to be very involved with my family (since they lived nearby).”
One of the most impactful parts of Elizabeth’s MC journey was getting to study in London for a semester. “(I got) to see places I’d only read about. That was part of my motivation to go back for a longer time later, on a Rotary scholarship.”
Another point of impact? An MC friend, Amy Dabbs (now Armstrong), whom Elizabeth calls “the most welcoming person.” In other words, hangouts rarely consisted of just two people or a small clique. Amy wanted to help everyone feel included.
“That’s something I (try to pass on to) our daughter now,” Elizabeth says.
‘They invested in me’
Elizabeth’s younger brother, Stewart, used to joke that attending MC was a “family requirement.” But in reality, “I felt no pressure at all (from my family to come here),” he says.
Sure, Stewart grew up attending Elizabeth’s MC tennis matches. But what influenced him most was hearing his dad talk with others about the school, and meeting the friends Judge Tom had made there.
“The thing he emphasized was the Christian environment, the opportunity to be challenged and grow in his faith,” Stewart says. “I had opportunities to play baseball and tennis at (other) schools – but I wanted to be part of that special environment Dad talked about.”
In addition to the “outstanding” education at MC, Stewart says, his time on the baseball team confirmed he’d made the right choice:
“Tom Gladney, my baseball coach … We all knew what the most important thing in his life was,” Stewart recalls, adding that Gladney always read scripture at the first team meeting of the year.
At Stewart’s very last MC baseball game, “I broke my leg sliding into third base,” he recalls. “I had a couple of surgeries, and all my professors and the president of the college called me to express their concern. They cared.”
“The professors, they’re scholars at the top of whatever they’re teaching. (But) they all knew my name, they invested in me … They would do anything to help me.”
And it wasn’t just academic or athletic help. God used MC to guide Stewart into adulthood, he says.
“I’m 50 years old now, and when I look back at my life from age 18 to 22 when I was here, the decisions I was making (about my future career, law school, and marrying Heather) – I’m thankful I was in a place where growth in my faith (was) the environment.”
Heather Lee, who came to MC as Heather Davidson, says the Christian environment also influenced her decision to enroll. Also, “I was a social work major, and MC was one of very few accredited programs in Mississippi. And I wanted to stay close to home,” she says.
What does she remember about life at MC? “Everyone was so welcoming and helpful. If you needed something, (you didn’t) hesitate to ask.”
One of her favorite social work professors was Dr. Pete Campbell. “He figured me out pretty quick, I think,” she says, laughing.
Stewart adds: “(Dr. Campbell told me), ‘I just love Heather. She’s just so – transparent.’ He meant it as a compliment, I think. And I went, yeah, that’s Heather. Direct, maybe.”
“It might be a fault,” Heather says, still laughing.
When asked to name a favorite MC memory or activity, Heather mentions the fun concerts and other events that the student government association hosted on the quad. But the most impactful part of campus life was meeting so many believers who were pursuing the Lord.
“That helped shape and mold someone in that stage of life that can be so vulnerable.”
New generation, same mission
Like many baseball players, Tom Lee III played for a community college (Hinds) before transferring to a four-year university (MC). Once there, he found his place. “You don’t have to worry about who your friends are going to be, how to get involved,” says Tom III, who graduated in May and starts med school this fall.
In the century-plus since Tom III’s great-grandfather graduated from MC, a lot has changed: diversity, technology, the name of the university. But God continues working in the lives of MC students, leadership, and staff.
“(At MC) there’s always an emphasis on each individual having their relationship with Christ,” Tom III says. “I’ve had professors open each class with prayer.”
“The faculty and staff, we’d see them at our various churches (in the metro),” Elizabeth adds. “That’s such a great example to college students.”
Now, more than 30 years after graduating, “(David and I are) at the age where our MC classmates have children who are choosing where to go to college,” she says, “and so many of them are choosing MC. It is just a tremendous place to be part of.”
Judge Tom Lee on MC’s bicentennial
“Almost my entire life, I have had a personal connection with MC. Over those years I have been a student, an athlete, a trustee, a parent – and now grandparent – of students at this great Christian university. It is truly a special place with a legacy of excellence and a strong and bright future under the leadership of (President) Dr. Blake Thompson and his team. I am confident with God’s grace the university will continue to thrive and bless many future generations over the next 200 years.”
Fall events at MC
-
- First day of classes: August 17
- Prospective student preview days: September 12, October 12
- Family Weekend: September 25-26
- Bicentennial Gala featuring Nate Bargatze: September 29
(Gala tickets available at mc.edu/offices/giving/gala) - Bicentennial Homecoming Weekend: October 29-31
- Winter commencement: December 11
- More events and info: mc.edu/events
