REV. LEE MADDUX GENTRY

1959-1960        

Lee was born on July 29, 1926 to Kate Irene Maddux and Robert Isaac Gentry in Stevenson, AL. He was married to Tommie Bandy Garrett of Carrollton, GA, and had five children—Vesta, Lyle, Celia, Mimi, and Bill. 

He completed high school in Bridgeport, AL, and attended the University of Alabama, later earning a degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. In 1955 he enrolled at Dallas Theological Seminary but completed his studies in 1959 at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. 

Rev. Gentry served several churches in Georgia: Cave Spring, Oak Mountain Presbyterian Chapel and Carrollton Presbyterian Church. While in seminary he gained extensive experience working with youth at the Methodist Children’s Home in Dallas, TX, and with the Dekalb County Juvenile Court and the YMCA in Atlanta, GA. 

In 1960 Rev. Gentry accepted the position of Dean of Students at French Camp Academy, working with Sam Patterson. During this time, he also served as stated supply of French Camp Presbyterian Church. 

In 1962 he accepted a call to First Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, MS. While there, he was active in various community and civic organizations including student ministry at Delta State University, establishing a Presbyterian Day School, and prison ministry at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, MS. He also served on the Belhaven College Board of Trustees, was Chairman of the Synod Campus Christian Life in Mississippi, was moderator of St. Andrews Presbytery, and president of the Greater Cleveland Ministerial Association. He remained as pastor in Cleveland until his untimely death on May 19, 1969.