Mary Parham Lewis

Greenville – Mary Parham Lewis Lewis, 95, of Florence, SC, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 27, 2017 at Rolling Green Village in Greenville. She was born May 7, 1922 in Columbia, SC, the daughter of the late Reddin Albert Lewis and Mary Duke Parham Lewis. She was married to the late Jack Weston Lewis who predeceased her on July 26, 1970. She was also predeceased by her brother, Robert A. Lewis (Alley) of Oakland, CA.

Mary was a devout Christian and member of the First Baptist Church of Florence for 80 years. She attended Winthrop College. She was a member of the Florence Country Club for 46 years and was the ladies club champion on many occasions. Mary loved music, reading, writing poetry, cooking, and gardening where she was active in The Plain Dirt Gardeners Garden Club. Following her husband’s death, Mary managed the Florence RC Cola/Nehi Bottling Company. She later became a program administrator for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control in Florence County and was one of the founders of the WIC program (a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children) for the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. A passionate and accomplished golfer and a former runner-up in the South Carolina State Amateur Championship, Mary was one of the early leaders in the development of the South Carolina Junior Golf Association in the Florence area and across the state.
Mary is survived by a son, Jack W. Lewis Jr. (Vicki) of Burlington, NC; a daughter, Barbara L. Crowe (Fred) of Greer, SC; a son, William (Bill) A. Lewis of Greenville, SC; five grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren and three great step-grandchildren: Laura L. Handy (Michael) of Greensboro, NC and their six children (Banks, Salem, Wilson, Riggs, Burns, and Sims); J. Weston Lewis III (Mary Margaret) of Atlanta, GA and their three children (Jack IV, Adelia, and John Thomas); W. Andrew Lewis of Houston, TX and his daughter, Bryn; Jessica G. Fincher (Tad) of Charlotte, NC and their three children (Lily, Ben, and Ella); Stephanie Gross of Charlotte, NC; Stephen L. Crowe (Josh Cheramie) of Brooklyn, NY; Matthew (Matt) J. Crowe (Jessika) of Woodstock, GA and their two children (Hudson and Kenley). Nothing gave her more joy than visiting and sharing life’s lessons with these devoted children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Affectionately known as Grandmer, Granmerr, or GG-mer, she taught all the importance of serving with compassion for others, acting with sensibility and integrity, honoring commitments, and above all, having a good sense of humor. She’ll always be remembered by her most common phrase “a hundred years from now, you’ll never know the difference”.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation (a 501(c)(3)) organization through www.scjgf.org or PO Box 286, Irmo, SC 29063) or the charity of one’s choosing.

A memorial service honoring Mary’s life will be held at Waters-Powell Funeral Home ( www.waterspowellfh.com ) with visitation following the service, 400 S. Dargan Street, Florence, SC 29506 on Saturday, January 6, 2018 at 2:00PM. A private interment of ashes ceremony will be held for family members prior to the service at Mount Hope Cemetery, 100 Cherokee Rd, Florence, SC.