Joseph Thomas Lee

Joseph Thomas Lee, 83, a Jackson, Mississippi, native and a resident of Dallas, Texas, passed away Thursday, December 3 from complications of pneumonia and heart disease at The Tradition Senior Living Center.

Joseph is survived by his wife of 33 years, Marilyn; two sons, Joe Lee (Leslie), of Brandon, Mississippi, and Stuart Lee (Trish), of Columbus, Mississippi; a brother, Bobby Lee, of Gluckstadt, Mississippi; three grandchildren, John Lee, of Ridgeland, Mississippi, Garrett Lee (Kendall), of Bossier City, Louisiana, and Kristin Lee, of Dothan, Alabama; two stepchildren, Bryan Plymale and Carol Plymale Rinker (Marty) of Dallas; three step-grandchildren, Allison Knight of Columbus, Daniella Plymale of Dallas, and Savannah Rinker of Frisco, Texas; one great grandchild, Ryker Lee of Bossier City; one step-great grandchild, Kellen Powell of Columbus.

Joseph was originally from Ashland, Mississippi, and grew up in Jackson, graduating from Provine High School in 1956. After a stint in the National Guard and his 1961 graduation from Mississippi College, he worked in broadcast television at WJTV-12 in Jackson. He married the late Rose Reynolds of Jackson in 1960 and moved to Lenox Fine China as a regional sales representative before taking a public relations position with Mississippi Public Broadcasting in the late 1960s.

Relocating the family to the northeastern United States in 1970, Joseph worked for Royal Doulton and, later, Orrefors, continuing to market and sell fine china and accessories to national and international markets. His move to Dallas in 1986 put him in contact with the former Marilyn Plymale, whom he married in 1987, and with whom he partnered for over two decades at the real estate firm of Ebby Halliday.

Joseph will be laid to rest on Monday, December 21 at 2 p.m. at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson alongside his late parents, Joseph Brashier Lee and Alma Duncan Lee. Due to COVID concerns, a small service primarily limited to family will be held with appropriate safety measures and social distancing observed. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America or to the American Diabetes Association.