Mattie McGee Lee, 89, of Bay Springs, Mississippi died at Jasper General Hospital on Sunday evening, December 29, 2024.  Mrs. Lee served as the Tax Assessor and Collector of Jasper County for twenty years.  She was the first female elected official in Jasper County. In her position, she touched the lives of an untold number of Jasper County citizens. She knew and helped so many people in her role as Tax Assessor.

Mattie was born in Louin, Mississippi on March 5, 1935, to Otis and Tressie McGee.  She attended school at Louin where she was a cheerleader and a great basketball player.  Upon graduation from High School, she attended Jones County Junior College.

She married Joe Lee on October 2,1954.  Joe was soon drafted by the United States Army and sent to Europe where he was a member of the occupied forces in Germany and Austria.  As the story went, he was not supposed to have family with him, but Mattie, never one to be bothered by the rules, hopped on a plane and joined her young husband in Austria.  While there, she and Joe happily discovered that they were expecting a baby. She stayed with Joe until she was seven months pregnant. At that time, she flew home where she lived with her parents and gave birth to her first child, Donna.  A son, Joe Read Lee, Jr. (Buddy) was born in 1959 and Suzanne came along in 1963.

Mattie will be remembered by her children as always being fun-loving, an amazing cook, and making sure that her children had many opportunities to enjoy life to its fullest. There were always beach vacations, swimming, water skiing, attending the South Mississippi State Fair, and a whole host of other fun activities. She will also be remembered as an awesome Mimi to her grandchildren. She never said "No" when asked to keep them. She and "Pop" made many trips to attend special occasions in the lives of all six grandchildren.

Mattie was a faithful member of Antioch Baptist Church. She sang in the choir, served in the kitchen and participated in any ministry where she was needed.

Mattie was proceeded in death by her parents, Otis and Tressie McNeil McGee, sister, Ruby Blackwell (Charlie) and brother, Richard McGee and her husband of 67 years, Joe Lee. She is survived by her three children, Donna Hinton (Don), Buddy Lee (Marilyn), Suzanne Sumrall (Bill), six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Services will be held at Antioch Baptist Church, 1611 Highway 18, Louin, Mississippi, on Thursday, January 2, 2025.  Visitation will be in the sanctuary of the Church from 10:00-11:00A.M. with the service immediately following.  Internment will be at the Antioch Cemetery.  Colonial Chapel Funeral of Bay Springs is in charge of the arrangements (601) 764-2181.

Pallbearers will be Matthew Hinton, Allen Massingill, Chris Newton, Jamie Overton, Jake Sumrall and Ethan Utterback.

The family would like to express a special thank you to all the medical personal at Jasper General Hospital and the care providers who stayed with her during her final days. She came to refer to Summerland Manor as her home and we greatly appreciate them.