Kathryn H. Lewis

LEWIS, KATHRYN H. (Kay), 80, of Wakefield, died peacefully at home on March 9 attended by her beloved daughters, Deborah Lewis and Richmond Lewis, and her cherished son-in-law, David Mazzucchelli. Born in Minneapolis and raised in St. Paul, this daughter of the midwest made her home in Wakefield for the past four decades. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in science, Kay worked as a house mother at a home for troubled children in Lake Forest, Illinois. It was there that she met Rev. John B. (Jack) Lewis, who would later become the rector of St. John the Divine in Saunderstown, RI. Jack and Kay were married in 1954, and in 1959 they moved to Japan for six years. After that, the family relocated several times, finally settling in Wakefield. A child of the depression with a soft spot for the sixties, Kay was an independent and progressive thinker, with long-standing interests in health food, organic farming, and recycling. She was a highly creative woman who would often visit Boston or New York for museum shows or avant-garde performances. Her years in Japan left a lasting influence. Already an admirer of modern design and pre-Columbian art, she became enthralled by Japanese art and culture, studying local arts and collecting traditional crafts. She thought of life as “one big adventure,” whether it was traveling to Belize with Elder Hostel, hunting down hole-in-the-wall spice shops in New York City, driving on open-ended journeys to canyons out west—with stops along the way at Frank Lloyd Wright houses—or whipping up a gourmet soup from leftovers in the fridge. Her overriding passion was to be a wife and mother, and after the love of her life died she devoted most of her energies to assisting her children and son-in-law, speaking with her daughters by phone every day, and doing what she could to help them pursue their chosen paths. She was a loyal friend, and all who knew her marveled at the way she took life as it came—with acceptance. She will continue to be an inspiration for her wise perspective, her kind, generous spirit, her irreverent humor, her unwavering integrity, her inquisitive nature, and her appreciation of all life brought her, down to the smallest things. Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial celebration on Saturday, May 1, at 11:00, at St. Peter’s By-the-sea in Narragansett.