Honorary Alumna of the Year Dr. Lois Underwood Beach was the second of twelve children born to Reverend and Mrs. J. L. Underwood. Her father was a minister in the Church of God.
Beach graduated from Bonne Terre High School in Bonne Terre, Missouri in 1940. She attended three colleges in three different states (Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee), before receiving the B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1944 and the Master’s degree four years later.
Beach was hired at Bible Training School (later to become Lee College) in 1944 by then-president Zeno C. Tharp. She went on to teach during the tenure of thirteen presidents at B.T.S./Lee College/Lee University.
In 1959, Charles and Lois Beach were both honored by having the Lee College Annual, the Vindagua, dedicated to them. In 1965, Lois Beach became the first female at Lee College to be appointed Chairperson of the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
In 1968, she was voted “Teacher of the Year” by the student body. In 1976 she received the Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 1981, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree at the graduation ceremony.
In 1988, Lee’s science building was named the Lois Underwood Beach Science Building, honoring Lee’s longest-term faculty member. In 1993 she was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, and in 1999 she fully retired.