John Dixon Lewis, Sr. went to be with his Lord and Savior on May 5, 2011. He was born October 22, 1930 to Henry Elmore Lewis and Emily Dewald Lewis in Conroe, TX. Graduating from Coldspring High School in 1947, he then received his B.S. and M.Ed. degrees from Sam Houston State Teachers College. In 1952, he served in Korea with the US Army. For seven years he taught school in the Aldine and Conroe school districts. In 1960, he moved his family to Denton and opened Denton's first licensed nursing home. He later became an administrator at the Denton State School until retirement in 1986. John was ordained as a deacon in 1957 at Northside Baptist Church in Conroe. After moving to Denton, he was instrumental in organizing Northside Baptist Church, Denton. He and his family later joined and became active members of First Baptist Denton.
John and his wife loved to travel. In 2000, he fulfilled a lifelong dream to explore the pyramids at Giza. He was an avid bridge player, remote controlled airplane pilot and Harker pottery collector.
He married Emmy Grace McKissack on December 23, 1951. Three children blessed this union, John Dixon Jr. (Jay) married to Shauna Martin, Jim Leslie (deceased), and Margaret Jill married to Mark Johnson. Many hours were spent playing with and watching grandchildren, John Lewis III, Jennifer Johnson, Meredith Johnson Beakley and Emma Lewis Clark. He was an honored guest at two of his granddaughter's weddings this past fall adding grandsons-in-law, Josh Beakley and Garrett Clark to the Lewis family. Great granddaughter, Lorelei has brought sunshine and laughter for the past two years.
He is survived by his brother, Elmore Lewis; sister and husband, MaryAnne and Gene Marion, all of Waverly, TX; and sisters-in-law, Marcia (Doll) McCaskill and Margaret Jones.
A visitation will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Friday May 6, 2011 at Mulkey-Mason, Jack Schmitz and Son Funeral home, 705 N. Locust, Denton. A funeral service will be held at 3:00 PM Saturday May 7, 2011 at First Baptist Church, 1100 Malone St., Denton, TX. Dr. Jeff Williams and Rev. Cliff Feeler will officiate the service. Interment will be at Old Waverly Cemetery, Walker County, TX.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, Missions Fund, 1100 Malone St., Denton, TX 76201.