Lemuel Edward (Lee) Mauldin, Jr.

Lemuel Edward (Lee) Mauldin, Jr. died on the evening of October 7, 2012 in Collins, Mississippi at the age of 92. Born on October 19, 1919, to Lemuel Edward Mauldin, Sr. and Josephine Walters and raised in the Station Creek community near Collins, Mississippi, he was the youngest of nine brothers and sisters. Lee graduated Collins High School and attended Mississippi State University. Jessie Rae Maxey of Jones County, Mississippi was his beloved wife for over fifty years. Lee was employed by Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in San Diego, California and then transferred to a branch of the same company in New Orleans. He was a few months shy of draft age when Pearl Harbor was bombed, but later enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific theater as a Boatsman 3rd Class assigned to an LST (Landing Ship Tank). LSTs carried tanks, bulldozers, hardware and personnel from island to island during the war. Lee was among the first troops to set foot in Japan after their surrender. With his brother-in-law, William Maxwell he started a grocery business in the Calhoun community and later became a poultry producer. He was very active in his community and church, serving as deacon and Boy Scout leader. In the late 60’s the family moved to Pascagoula where he founded Mauldin Wheel Alignment and Brake Service. After retirement and living in the Franklin Creek community until the mid-1980s, Mr. and Mrs. Mauldin moved back to his hometown of Collins. Needing medical care he and Mrs. Mauldin moved to Athens, Georgia for surgery and recuperation and decided to live there for several years. Lee moved back to Collins two years ago to live in the Mississippi Veteran’s Administration Home. Mr. Mauldin was preceded in death by his wife, Jessie Rae and his eight brothers and sisters. Survivors include two sons: Edward Lemuel Mauldin, III and his wife, Sally, of Reno Nevada; and Dr. Joseph Mason Mauldin, and his wife, Sheryl, of Athens, Georgia, and grandchildren, Heather Houck, and her husband, Scott, of Alexandria, Virginia; Heidi Mauldin, of Alexandria, Virginia; Brent Kinman, and his wife, Jenny, of Bogart, Georgia; and Andrew Mauldin, of Alpharetta, Georgia; and great-grandchildren, Austin, Ashley, and Alexander Houck of Alexandria, Virginia, and Anna Kinman of Bogart, Georgia. Services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 13, at Memory Chapel, Laurel, MS (visitation from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.) with the Rev. James Carroll Sanford officiating. Mrs. Flora Holifield will deliver the eulogy and obituary. Flowers are optional. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P. O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675. Memory Chapel of Laurel is in charge of the arrangements.

Lemuel Edward (Lee) Mauldin, Jr.

October 19, 1919 - October 7, 2012