Honoring namesake of Memphis' Tom Lee Park on the 100-year anniversary of his heroism
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - 2025 marks 100 years since the namesake of Memphis’ Tom Lee Park saved the lives of more than two dozen people, earning him national celebrity status and a host of honors for his heroism.
It was the evening of May 8, 1925, when disaster struck on the Mississippi River. The steamboat M.E. Norman was returning to Memphis after a trip a few miles downriver to Arkansas. The Norman was a tow boat, not a passenger vessel, but for this sightseeing trip as part of an engineering club meeting, she carried 72 men, women, and children. As she headed upstream, the river’s unrelenting current overpowered the overloaded boat. The Norman listed, flooded, and sank quickly.
Watching all this was Tom Lee. He was also heading upriver after dropping off his boss in Helena, Ark. Lee steered toward the passengers in his small wooden boat with an outboard motor.
Survivors recount Lee heroically pulling men, women, and children from the water. He dropped several victims off on a sand bar, then headed back into the current to save more lives. Lee reportedly did not know how to swim, yet he continued to make trip after trip. He is credited with saving 32 lives that day.
Asked about his efforts, Lee modestly replied, “I guess I didn’t do any more than anyone else would have done in my place."
Tom Lee's heroism made headlines across the country turning him into a national celebrity. He was invited to meet President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. The City of Memphis gave Lee a job with the sanitation department. The Engineers Club of Memphis, whose members he’d saved, bought him a home in the Klondike neighborhood in North Memphis. Every year, they donated money to Lee and his wife.
Tom Lee died of cancer in 1952. He is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in South Memphis. His headstone makes no note of his famous deed, but reads simply, “Lead me in the path of peace.”
The city park on the Mississippi River was renamed in his honor in 1954. An obelisk was erected marking his selfless feat. It was destroyed twice in two different storms. A statue depicting Lee saving someone now stands on the banks of the Mississippi. In the park's most recent renovation, an art installation was added featuring 32 basalt sculptures representing the lives Lee saved. A 33rd, taller and shinier, stands above all the others honoring Lee himself.