Former Brigham Young University Pres. Rex E. Lee, lauded for his positive outlook and enthusiasm in the face of adversity, died Monday, March 11, at age 61. He had struggled for years with various health problems.
Despite his illnesses, which included cancer, he was a model of endurance in his BYU position. He was still sitting at the president's desk less than three months before his death. He was released as president on Dec. 31, 1995.His successor, Elder Merrill J. Bateman, noted in a statement following Brother Lee's death, "In spite of the health challenges he faced, including two forms of cancer, his leadership was energetic, spiced with wit, and full of optimism."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, during his BYU devotional address on Oct. 17, 1995, paid tribute to the outgoing president. He told the students: "His remarkable life has been one worthy of an example for each of you. He was not born nor reared with riches. His achievements have come only through hard work and dedicated service."
Then he added: "President Lee has become what he is because he has done what this Church expects of each of us. He has walked the path of faith and prayer and obedience."
It was announced that Brother Lee would be BYU's 10th president by President Hinckley, then first counselor in the First Presidency, in May of 1989.
Brother Lee's 61/2-year tenure as the university's president was marked by significant accomplishments, according to Elder Bateman, including "a streamlining of procedures to shorten the time from entry to graduation; a highly successful capital campaign; a clear statement on academic freedom at BYU; a warm outreach to faculty, staff and students through `question and answer' sessions; and significant additions to the physical plant."
In announcing the graduation initiative, Brother Lee made it clear that the goal was to make a BYU education available to more youth under the 27,000-student enrollment cap. He called for a cooperative effort by everyone involved with BYU to remove roadblocks to timely graduation so more students could attend in the same amount of time.
The capital campaign, still in its early stages, is an ambitious drive to generate nearly $250 million in private donations for BYU by the end of the century.
Brother Lee's academic and career excellence are documented by his achievements. Among them, he was founding dean of the BYU law school, a successful attorney and solicitor general for the United States, representing the justice department in the U.S. Supreme Court during the Reagan administration.
But, as lifelong friend Larry V. Shumway, pointed out, "He circulated in the highest circles, yet he was friendly to everyone."
Brother Lee demonstrated a fun-loving spirit while president of BYU. During halftime of the final home game of the 1993 basketball season, the traditional "unmask Cosmo" skit was staged to reveal the student who played the school mascot that season. There were two battling Cosmos on the floor during the skit and when the first was unveiled, it was Pres. Lee.
He enjoyed running and was a competitive marathoner until illness stopped him.
Brother Shumway, who has been on the faculty at BYU for more than two decades, said there was no inconsistency in his friend's life. From the time he was a child, Rex Lee was able to enjoy life while staying focused on what he wanted.
"He seemed to always know where he was going to go and how to get there," Brother Shumway said in a Church News interview.
He remembered that young Rex Lee was widely admired in the small town of St. John's in eastern Arizona. "The people of St. John's were always proud of him."
Brother Shumway said that his Primary class was on an outing one day and stopped to see Rex, then a young boy, at the sawmill run by his family. He said Rex was hard at work when the class arrived. He stopped for a minute to chat and then went right back to work as the class continued on its way.
Brother Shumway said he and Brother Lee started singing together when they were young. Their act included songs "that were funny to the people in Arizona, but I don't know how the people up here in Provo felt."
For fun, they would sing to girls over the phone at BYU, including Rex's girlfriend, Janet Griffin, who eventually became his wife.
They also sang as part of Brother Lee's campaign to be freshman class president. The tactic worked as the ambitious young student won the election. That marked the beginning of three years of service in student administration including terms as president of the student senate and as student-body president.
He went on to the University of Chicago Law School before launching his legal and educational careers. He has received six honorary doctorates, the most recent awarded by BYU a week before his death.
Elder Bateman said: "We will miss the charm, wit, keen intellect, and genuine friendship that characterizes Rex. He had a unique talent of making people feel comfortable in his presence. He was always self-effacing as he made others feel important."