Stephen Lee Thomas, 76, loving father and prominent attorney, died at home on December 5, 2025. For more than 50 years Steve was recognized as one of Mississippi’s finest trial lawyers and most congenial citizens.
“Stevie” was born on December 17, 1948. His first year of life was spent in Wilmington, Del. while his father was headquartered with DuPont. The Thomas family then was transferred to Chattanooga, where Stevie and his older brother, Jerry, greatly enjoyed ten years of their early childhood on Signal Mountain. The family then moved to Richmond, Va. where the boys became big brothers to a little sister, Patti. Stevie attended St. Bridget's School and graduated from Douglas Freeman High School in 1966.
Following high school graduation Stevie enrolled at the University of Mississippi, where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and one of the most respected students on campus. Graduating in 1970, Stevie entered the Ole Miss Law School. His outstanding academic performance there earned a high class ranking and a place on the law review.
Upon his law school graduation in 1973, Stevie settled in Greenville, where he became a partner first in the law firm of Mansour, Kilpatrick, and Thomas and later in the firm of Lake Tindall. It was in Greenville that Stevie first demonstrated the legal skills that made him a virtual legend among Mississippi trial lawyers.
After years in Greenville, Stevie moved to the Jackson area in 2001 to join Bradley Arant, a regional law firm with offices throughout the Southeast. In Jackson, where he became “Steve,” he operated on a larger stage, expanding his reputation for skilled courtroom advocacy and his lifelong practice of making close friends wherever he went.
Steve’s legal talents earned recognition: as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and American Board of Trial Advocates, as a member of the Mississippi Bar Foundation, and with a long-time listing in Best Lawyers in America.
His service for many years on the Mississippi Home Corporation, providing access to affordable housing for those in need, was but one illustration of his commitment to helping others. Steve’s personal generosity was extraordinary and unheralded. He was always eager to mentor younger lawyers, and to share – sometimes repeatedly – his own amusing legal experiences. Highly intelligent, Steve was able both to recognize his own talents and to offer helpful criticism in ways that were willingly accepted. As he sometimes remarked when talking to a group of young lawyers, “We all have strengths; some of you have weaknesses.”
Steve’s professional success did not come at the expense of family. Throughout his adult life, Steve was a doting and faithful father to his two children, Lindsay Dowdle and Avery Thomas, both of whom survive him and have embarked on successful careers that Steve was eager to share with anyone within earshot. Steve and his son-in-law, Rob Dowdle, were mutually devoted to each other as well, spending quality time together especially during Steve’s last year.
In addition to Lindsay, Avery, and Rob, Steve is survived by his brother, Jeremiah L. Thomas (New York), a sister, Patricia Thomas Brown (Delray Beach, Fla.), and seven nieces.
A celebration of Steve’s remarkable life will be held at the home of Margaret Cupples, 1703 Piedmont Street, Jackson, Miss., on Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 4 p.m.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial donations be made to either the Methodist Rehabilitation Center, 1350 E. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, MS, or the Salvation Army, 570 Beasley Road, Jackson, MS.
