Dorothea Lewis

Dorothea Lorraine Lindahl Lewis went to heaven on February 7, 2015 with her family by her side. Dorothea was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 30, 1933. She was baptized at age 2, attended Clara Barton Elementary, and was a National Honor Society student at Calumet High School. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Hope College in Holland, Michigan and her Master’s Degree at Central State University.

She cherished time with her parents, Carl Lindahl and Lorena “Spence” Lindahl, and fishing with her brothers Ray and Charles.

She began her teaching career in 1955 as a 1st grade teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and later in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She moved to Stillwater, Durant, and then Edmond, Oklahoma where she raised her 5 boys, Mark, Scott, Todd, Shawn, and Kirk. She worked as the Coordinator of Early Childhood for Putnam City Schools, and was honored with the Golden Apple Teacher Award. She worked at Kitty Korner Clothing Store, Angie Debo Elementary, and at Panhandle State University facilitating teachers in summer workshops. She served as a lifelong educator for 50 years.

As part of Southern Hills Christian Church, she served The Lord joyfully as Director of Sunday School, on the Communion Committee, and as a Pre-School and Nursery Teacher. She volunteered for Church Dinners, the Annual Pumpkin Patch Harvest, and Sunday School Class gatherings.

Dorothea served as a volunteer with Hope Center of Edmond starting with the opening in 1984, sorting and sacking care packages for community members in need, and then with Hopefully Yours, an extension of Hope Center. She provided shut in care for numerous friends, served on Oklahoma Retired Educators Association as the Scholarship Coordinator, and worked at election sites. She assisted at her sons’ and grandchildren’s schools for various activities.

Dorothea treasured every day of raising her five boys, watching her grandchildren grow, and spending time with her family. Activities were endless: OU football games, soccer games, family beach trips, gardening, picnicking in the park, zoo trips, science museums, and the World Olympics in Atlanta.

Dorothea loved spending time with friends at the theatre, bridge nights, dinners, and traveling on many trips, cruises, and train rides.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brother Ray. She is survived by her five children: Mark of Houston, Texas; Scott and his wife Laurie of San Francisco, California; Todd, his wife Tina, and their children Ryan, Lauren, and Rachel, of Edmond, Oklahoma; Shawn, his wife Deborah, and their son Bryson, of Edmond, Oklahoma; Kirk, his children Kobe, Graham, and Jeremy, and their mother Candy, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is also survived by her brother and sisters-in-law Charles and Pat Lindahl, and Bonnie Lindahl as well as five nieces and nephews, two groups of lifelong bridge friends, and a host of other wonderful friends.

We shall remember her for her bravery, her patience, and her kindness.

Special thanks to the staff at the Lakes Care Center, Physicians Choice Hospice, and her other caregivers.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Crossing Community Church Chapel at 1:00 PM on Friday, February 13, 2015.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hope Center, 1251 N Broadway, Edmond, OK 73034