Olee Lewis

Mrs. Olee Lewis, 86, of Puryear, died Tuesday, January 14, 2014, Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville. Services will be held at 12 p.m. Monday, January 20, 2014, at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church with Rev. Thomas Taylor officiating. Interment will follow in Union Grove Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday at the church. She was born to the late Elburn and Cursell Gray of Puryear, she attended Puryear Grade School and later Central High School. After high school graduation, she received a nurse’s aide certification in Murray and then trained at the National Baptist Missionary Training School in Nashville. She was the widow of Charles W. Lewis. The route to her ambitions changed when she returned to Henry County to help care for her ailing mother. During this time, she volunteered to work for what was to become the Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Council. She led the council from 1967 through 2009 when she retired. In 1969, she was one of the organizers of the Henry County Farmers’ Market when it was located in the courthouse basement. Later she helped start Henry County Toys for Children in the former City Auditorium building. About that time, she assisted the late Mary Cannon, a longtime Henry County educator, in starting adult basic education and GED classes in Puryear. In 1997, she was the honoree at the Betsy Ross Wilcox scholarship dinner, where she was cited for 30 years of service to the needy and youth. She was a member of Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Puryear. She also served as a young women’s association adviser and served four years as president of the Obion River District Association. In her later years, she helped organize the Sister to Sister and Brother to Brother clubs. Growth by the first Sister club led to the organization of a second Sister to Sister club. Lewis also organized the SHARE (Share Hope and Resource Education) program for older women who met to quilt and create art. She leaves four children: Brenda Kendall, Lois Crump and Joyce Atkinson, all of Paris, and Carrie Webb of Murray; 10 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and several other relatives. Rawls Funeral Home – Paris 731-642-1515