Jack White Lee, of Mason, died on Sunday, July 24, 2016 at his home at the age of 89.
He was born on September 7, 1926 to Robert E. and Zora White Lee in Mason. He graduated from Mason High School in 1943. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to the end of World War II. After the war he received a B.A. from the University of Texas in 1948 and a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School in 1950. He married Laverne Capps Lee on July 17, 1948. They were married for 63 years until her death on February 13, 2012.

After graduation from high school, Jack enrolled in the University of Texas but his real passion was to become a naval carrier pilot. He had to wait another year until his 17th birthday finally arrived and persuade his mother to sign the enlistment permission form. The war ended while he was in flight training, but his love of flying never left him. He accumulated almost 5,000 hours of pilot time in various airplanes he owned.

Jack returned to Mason to practice law with his father, Bob Lee, who was a long-time attorney and civic leader in Mason. In 1950 he was the youngest attorney in the judicial district. He continued to practice law in Mason up until days before his death, when he was the oldest practicing and longest-serving attorney in the district.

In 1970, Jack, Marvin McMillan, Jr., Walton Lehmberg and Bob Chapman signed personal notes to buy the Commercial Bank and bring it back in Mason when there was a risk that it would be sold.

Also in in the 1960s, Jack, Marvin McMillan, Jr,, Walton Lehmberg, Corky Eckert, Victor Lehmberg, and additional investors from Brady created the Mason Feedlot.

During his life in Mason, he has been active in many civic organizations. He served on the school board. He was president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCs) for a term in the 1960s. He was part of the group that created Operation Orphans.

Jack was a life-long member of the First United Methodist church and served on its board. He was instrumental in creating the charitable foundation that is the vehicle for handling donations that support the work of the church

Jack provided services and counsel to the formation of the Habitat for Humanity chapter in Mason and continued to be a supporter of its efforts throughout his life.

He belonged to the Mason Lions Club and was its longest-tenured member at the time of his death. Its weekly meetings were one of the great pleasures of living in Mason.

Jack's life was marked by the virtues of hard work, dedication to clients, fulfilment of responsibility, and the importance of contributing back to the community in which he lived. In 2014, the Mason Chamber of Commerce inducted Jack into the Mason County Hall of Fame.

Jack is survived by his son, William Robin Lee of Mason, and two grandchildren, Andrew Lee and Julia Lee, both of San Francisco, California. A son, John Wallace Lee, preceded Jack in death in 1981.

The Mason Funeral Home will hold visitation for friends and family on July 27 from 5 pm to 8 pm. The funeral service will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, July 28 at the First United Methodist Church in Mason. Interment followed in the Gooch Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Mason Funeral Home, owned by Jack's close friends Randy and Amy Beckmann. Condolences may be sent to the family on-line at masonfuneralhome.net. The family requests that any memorials for Jack Lee be sent to Steady Steps Daycare, First United Methodist Church, Box 178, Mason, TX 76856.