John Williams & Florence Dean Minton Student Awards Ceremony

View the 2023 Student Awards Ceremony Program

About the John Williams & Florence Dean Minton Student Awards Ceremony

The Student Awards Ceremony and Lecture Series is named in honor of John William Minton and Florence Dean Minton. Their daughter, the late Polly Minton McLeRoy of Sherman, Texas, established and endowed the lecture series in 1993 to honor her parents. In more recent years, Mrs. McLeRoy’s son, William McLeRoy, graciously endorsed the concept of a ceremony to recognize the achievements of Baylor Law students to honor the memory of his grandparents and their lives’ work and at which a notable, inspiring speaker would address the students.

John William Minton was born in 1875 and graduated with an LL.B. from the University of Texas School of Law. In 1910, he was appointed to fill an unexpired term in the Texas Legislature from Sabine County; he subsequently was elected to the position and served in the Legislature through 1914. After that, he successfully practiced in Hemphill until his death in 1959. He was particularly noted for his early advocacy concerning East Texas timber interests. Florence Dean Minton was also born in Sabine County and was an active civic and church volunteer.

Mr. and Mrs. Minton had five children. Their daughter, Mrs. McLeRoy, who passed away in 2003, graduated from Texas Woman’s University. She was a retired schoolteacher and an active member of the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy. She had two sons, William and the late Richard McLeRoy. This ceremony’s focus on student achievement honors the life aims of Mrs. McLeRoy as a teacher. Mrs. McLeRoy’s brother, John Henry Minton, graduated from Baylor Law in 1925. His sons, John H. Minton, Jr., of Tyler, and Robert M. Minton of Henderson, also are Baylor Law graduates. Numerous other members of the Minton family have attended and graduated from Baylor University and Baylor Law.