Betty Lewis

Betty Firth Lewis died on January 26, 2012 at the age of _92, at her home in the Jefferson, Middleton, WI. Mrs. Lewis was born in Davenport, IA May 9, 1919, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James N. Firth. Dr. Firth was one of the leading Chiropractors in the country and at the time of his daughter's birth was on the faculty of The Palmer School. He was the author of a number of textbooks. Dr. Firth and three of his colleagues later founded the Lincoln Chiropractic College in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it was there that Mrs. Lewis grew up and graduated from Shortridge High School in 1936.

Mrs. Lewis majored in journalism at Indiana University. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority and Theta Sigma Phi, a journalism honor society. After graduating from IU, Betty attended graduate school at New York University in Manhattan. She returned to Indianapolis to marry Carl Lewis, a fellow journalist she met while working on the IU student newspaper, in May of 1941.

After her husband was drafted into the army in 1942, Mrs. Lewis followed him from army base to army base until he went overseas in the spring of 1944. She then returned to Indianapolis and worked at her husband's job on the Indianapolis Star until he was invalided back to the US. In late 1944, Mrs. Lewis joined her husband at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple Texas. The couple was blessed with two children, Eleanor and Daniel and moved about the Midwest several times, making homes in Indiana and Ohio.

The family moved to New Rochelle, New York when Carl joined a New York public relations firm. There Mrs. Lewis became the executive assistant to the Mayor of New Rochelle, and later became the executive assistant and spokesperson to Marshall McLuhan, a leading communications expert from Canada while he held the Albert Schweitzer chair of the humanities at Fordham University.

In 1969, the couple moved to Manhattan and Betty became a free- lance writer specializing in articles for newspapers and magazines. She continued to write later in life and was working on a novel at the time of her death.

Mrs. Lewis was an accomplished vocalist and sang with several choruses and choral groups including the North Avenue Presbyterian Church Choir of New Rochelle, NY (directed by her friend and vocal coach, Lloyd Walzer, chorus master of the New York City Opera, and later, the Metropolitan Opera.) and the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church choir in Manhattan. She also sang with the New York Choral Society.



After her husband's retirement in 1977, the Lewises moved to a dairy farm they owned near Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Betty joined the First Presbyterian Church in Reedsburg and was an active member of the Baraboo Theater Guild appearing in several musicals. After a few months of Wisconsin's harsh winter, the couple headed south eventually settling in Kerrville, TX in 1980, but returning to Wisconsin for the delightful summers with grandchildren.



In Kerrville, Betty sang with the Presbyterian church choir as well with the "Fun with Music" chorus for over twenty years. She was one of the first volunteers at the Cowboy Art Museum in Kerrville. Betty also was a community activist (protesting the war in Iraq) and through Diedert Claim Senior Center, helped young women in need.



Betty is survived by Carl, her husband of 70 years and love of her life. She is also survived by her daughter Eleanor (Tom) Flinn, son Daniel (Kim) Lewis, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and sister.



The Family would like to thank the Senior Helpers, especially Gloria and Candy, the entire Agrace Hospice Team, and Jefferson Manager, Jan Snater for the wonderful loving care they gave our wife, mother, grandmother.



In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the charity of your choice. Betty gave freely of her time and talent, especially favoring charities that helped feed and educate young people in need.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Jefferson at 2:00PM on Saturday, February 4, 2012.