Ronnie Lett's Journey: From Choir Director To Community Leader

It was an emotional Sunday morning at St. Mark's Church in Northport. Ronnie Lett, the longtime choir director for the church located just off McFarland Blvd., had lost his battle with cancer the night before. His passing evoked deep feelings of loss but also relief that he is no longer suffering and is now singing God's praises with the Heavenly Hosts.

Ronnie was also a major player in the lives of high school students and members of several other churches. He was hired as the first-ever choral director for the Tuscaloosa County School System in 1965. He served in that role for 21 years and was also the principal at Tuscaloosa County High School from 1992 to 1994.

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Nothing highlights Ronnie Lett's positive impact on the community more than his 2012 selection as Northport Citizen of the Year. He played a role in the development of thousands of high school students and the spiritual life of thousands more church members and attendees.

Ronnie served as executive director of the Tuscaloosa Character Council. That should tell you what kind of man Ronnie Lett was.

"He was honored for placing character training in every second-grade classroom in our public-school systems and for implementing character training at the secondary education level as well," the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama stated in a news release. "His considerable influence in the community and within education circles has garnered the support needed to accomplish this feat."

In recent years, Ronnie continued to impact student lives, substituting in band and choir at TCHS.

Lett also directed the music programs at Ridgecrest Baptist, Circlewood Baptist, Five Points Baptist, Holt Baptist Church, Grants Creek Baptist and finally at St. Mark’s.

St. Mark Lead Pastor Bo Lloyd paid tribute to Lett's caring nature, "Ronnie was the most gifted choir leader I ever had the pleasure to work with. What impressed me the most was his love for the choir, not as singers and musicians, but as people.

"He was truly their pastor," Rev. Lloyd wrote in remembrance. "He cared for them through the good and bad. He was always willing to visit them in the hospital, in a crisis or anytime they needed a helping hand. He will truly be missed."

He will be remembered as a perfectionist who directed large choirs in music that brought churchgoers closer to God and as a high school teacher and principal who cared about the lives of his students.

Ronnie knew music was a ministry, bringing a message to twice Sunday services at St. Mark and delivering a sermon in music for cantatas and other special events.

Music was part of Ronnie Lett's soul. His life was a melody that will be remembered in the mind's eye of those who smiled each Sunday morning as he tapped his foot and nodded his head to special music presentations.

Ronnie Lett lives on in the lives he touched and the music he loved.

Funeral arrangements are pending.