"I Believe In Angels": The Jane Ann Lampton Moore Stage Unveiled

On Thursday evening, March 26, 2026, the Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA) in Brookhaven unveiled their newly renovated Mary Jane Lampton Auditorium and rebuilt stage named after the late Jane Ann Lampton Moore, M.D. (1970-2022), of Jackson, beloved mother of Olivia, Lampton, and Lytle Moore of Jackson, wife of Dr. Alan Moore of Jackson, sister of Dr. Luke Lampton of Magnolia, Dr. Brett Lampton of Oxford, Mark Lampton and Ted Lampton, of Jackson, and daughter of Sara Lea Lott Lampton of Magnolia. The dedication ceremony was held on the stage of the Auditorium where, afterwards, the audience enjoyed a stellar performance of "Mamma Mia!" showcasing the extraordinary song and dance talents of MSA students. The delightful sold-out musical, which ran from March 26-29, was a top-notch production, a perfect christening of the grand and expansive Jane Ann Lampton Moore stage.

Jane Ann Lampton Moore, MD, passed away after a six-month battle with cancer on April 1, 2022. She was born in Jackson in 1970, the youngest of five children and the only daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Theodore Dudley ("Bob") Lampton. She attended Jackson Academy, where as a senior she was selected Most Beautiful in her class, an accolade in keeping with a family tradition as her mother, Sara Lea Lott Lampton, was voted a "Beauty" when she was a junior at Tylertown High School, and again when she was a senior, as well as Homecoming Queen, the same year that Jane Ann's father, Bob Lampton, also a senior at THS, was voted "Most Handsome."

Jane Ann attended Rhodes College in Memphis, where she studied art. After two years, she decided to pursue medicine and transferred to Mississippi College, later graduating from the University of Mississippi. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson in 1999 and completed a residency in Family Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, where she served as Chief Resident.

Upon her return to Mississippi, Jane Ann practiced family medicine with her brother Luke at Magnolia Clinic in Magnolia and served on its board of directors. Her practice of medicine was infused with a joy of life and inherent professionalism, and her patients remember with fondness her kindness and caring touch.

Jane Ann was a skilled artist in various formats, especially watercolors and oils. She was a student of Sam Gore and Wyatt Waters, whose teaching and work inspired her style and art. She won several art awards, including top prize at Duke University's Faculty Art Competition. While a medical student, she won the Frank Netter National Art contest for one of her watercolors and one of her oil paintings. A lithograph she created of Eudora Welty, which Welty admired, was exhibited at the Eudora Welty Library in Jackson and remains part of their permanent collection.

While Jane Ann was a consummate physician and talented artist, she was, according to her brother Luke, foremost a mother. She married Dr. Alan Moore in 1999. Her greatest joy was her husband and three children, Olivia, Lampton, and Lytle. She was engaged in the lives of her children at First Presbyterian Day School and Jackson Preparatory School, supporting their involvement in academics and sports.

Central to her existence was her Christian faith. In her teen years, she read the entire Bible and continued to study the Bible her whole life. She was a strong example to others in her service as a disciple of Jesus.

It is altogether fitting that the newly rebuilt stage at MSA's auditorium is named after Jane Ann. The Mary Jane Lampton Auditorium, "the one constant of the campus since 1912," according to MSA Executive Director Elizabeth Hirsch, was the gift of Jane Ann's ancestors, the sons of Mary Jane Conerly Lampton (1828-1879), who wished to honor their mother with a permanent memorial. At that time the MSA campus was known as Whitworth College, an all-female Methodist-sponsored institution founded in 1858.

The background of the Lamptons' transformative philanthropic gesture is inscribed on the imposing black marker standing near the entrance to the auditorium:

"Mary Jane Conerly Lampton, a mother, teacher, and diarist, grew up in Old Pike County, now Walthall. She married Benjamin Lampton, a planter who became a successful pioneer merchant of Old Pike County and Marion County. Together they had nine children. Mary Jane was one of the first public school teachers in Old Pike County. She taught for decades in a school located in Conerly's Post Office, named for her brother, in what is now Tylertown. The first Mayor of Tylertown recalled, 'She had the best judgment of any woman I ever knew.' Her eldest son, Walter, speaking on behalf of her five sons said, 'I thought my mother was the best woman ever born. We had the auditorium erected as a small expression of our love and admiration for her.'"

According to the Jackson Daily News, in November 1912 the building committee for the Mary Jane Lampton Auditorium Memorial met in Magnolia to award the contract to the Hull Construction Company of Jackson. Present at the meeting were Mary Jane's sons and Magnolia residents Lucius Lafayette Lampton (1852-1924) and Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr. (1867-1938); builders F.B. Hull and Sam Ewing of Jackson; and architect Bem Price of Birmingham. It was agreed the building would be completed by the following April (Nov. 9, 1912). (The architect's first name, Bem, is often misspelled as "Ben." Bem Price [1883-1936] was a prominent American architect whose projects include the Thad Lampton House (1913) in Jackson, the Peabody Building at the University of Mississippi, the William Bankhead residence in Jasper, AL, and the Jefferson Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Birmingham, AL.)

The Mary Jane Lampton Memorial Auditorium officially opened on Monday, May 5, 1913. The Brookhaven Semi-Weekly Leader reported that "the building was made possible by the gift of $10,000 ($337,000 in today's dollars) from the five Lampton brothers, of Magnolia, who wished to commemorate the life of their mother in a deed that would tell through the ages to come of the influence of a noble woman, perpetuate the honored family name and inspire others to splendid effort and usefulness." Many of the Lampton family were present for the opening, including Mrs. Iddo Lampton, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Lampton, Walter Lampton, Eddie Lampton, Thad Lampton, Lucius Lampton, and Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Reid and son of Magnolia (May 7, 1913).

Later that month, a formal dedication took place, and the Greek Revival building, "an expression in brick and stone of the enduring love of the Lampton brothers for their sainted mother" was filled to capacity. Rev. H. M. DuBose (1858-1941), a prominent figure in Southern Methodism in the early 20th century, gave a sermon and, afterwards, dedicated the Auditorium to the cause of "Christian Education," to "the giving and getting of knowledge" (Semi-Weekly Leader, May 21, 1913).

Throughout the history of Whitworth College, as it transformed from a four-year women's institution to a junior college as part of the Millsaps system in 1928 and enjoyed continued success through the early 1930s, the curriculum emphasized the arts: music (piano, voice, the violin) and the visual arts (painting, drawing, art crafts). The college consistently employed outstanding teachers. For example, in 1915, the head of the Art Department was American artist Myrtis Smith (1887-1977), a watercolorist, who studied under George Bellows and Robert Reid. This tradition continued when in 1999 the buildings were renovated, and the campus became the Mississippi School of the Arts, a statewide residential school that provides advanced studies in music, theater, dance, literary arts, media arts, and the subject undergraduate Jane Ann Lampton Moore loved most, the visual arts.

While the auditorium has been renovated many times since it was donated by the Lampton family in 1912, it now has a "new life," Dr. Hirsch stated at the stage unveiling ceremony, thanks to the major donations by the Brookhaven Trust, Dr. Luke Lampton, Dr. Alan Moore, and the Lampton family to expand the stage, allowing the school to offer such productions as "Mamma Mia!"

Prior to the evening's performance, the Lampton family and guests were honored at a V.I.P. reception at Captain Jack's Guest House, built in 1877 and located in Brookhaven's historic district. Greeted at the door by Jennifer Jackson, MSA Director of Advancement, guests wandered about the elegant rooms and enjoyed a sumptuous buffet of savory hors d'oeuvres with an Italian flair to match the "Mamma Mia!" theme (antipasto pasta salad, cheese balls and Italian bread) and mini cheese cakes for dessert. Taking a ceremonious moment, Dr. Hirsch commended two former MSA Board members, Patti Perkins and Bill Sones, by bestowing upon them the MSA Phoenix Award, a clear, polished acrylic trophy in the shape of a flame inscribed with the words "For your partnership and support."

Following the reception, everyone took a short drive to the Mary Jane Lampton Auditorium, arriving in plenty of time to find their seats. Before the musical began, Dr. Hirsch mounted the stage, and after welcoming guests, introduced Dr. Luke Lampton: "Dr. Lampton has been affiliated with MSA since our beginning. He has served on the MSA Foundation. Even with all his responsibilities, he never forgets family, a love of the arts, and a love of people. He has been such a friend to us here at MSA, and I know to many of you all here tonight." Dr. Hirsch continued, "The MSA Foundation would like to recognize Dr. Lampton for his tireless commitment to this school, and to him and his family for providing the funding for this renovation. We are proud to unveil the Jane Ann Lampton Moore stage, a fitting memorial of her as a descendant of Mary Jane Lampton."

Dr. Lampton joined Dr. Hirsch onstage. He gave a loving tribute to Mary Jane Lampton, his fourth great-grandmother, the first public school teacher in the area and a revered wife and mother, and to his beautiful sister, Jane Ann, physician and artist, and also a beloved wife and mother. Dr. Hirsch then presented Dr. Lampton with the MSA Phoenix Award.

Lights dimmed, and music began to play. The talented MSA students performed "Mamma Mia!" like Broadway professionals, dancing with precision and belting out favorite tunes. When the final curtain came down, the delighted audience exploded in applause. It was time to take pictures and capture forever memories of an unforgettable evening.

One photograph in particular, included here, stands out: Jane Ann's children, Olivia, Lampton, and Lytle standing in front of the red-draped stage with its black lettering at the top: "Jane Ann Lampton Moore Stage." It reflects a long-ago vision of the Lampton sons who, bereft of their mother, sought to permanently memorialize her with a worthy gift to a fine college, an auditorium named after her, as well as the dream of present-day angel investors, the Lampton brothers, who wanted to remember their sister with a profoundly useful and lasting renovation of that building. Surely, Mary Jane and Jane Ann were watching over their family that night, smiling as the last song of the show was sung.

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