Frances Lee (Murphy) Lewis

Frances Lee Murphy Lewis, 94, died peacefully surrounded by family and friends on February 19, 2020. She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Robert "Bob" Lewis and her son, Robert Scott Lewis. Also preceding Frances in death are her parents, Henry Cleveland and Maggie Skidmore Murphy; two brothers, Kenneth Moore Murphy and Patrick Henry Murphy; and two sisters, Margaret Murphy Brackett and Thelma Murphy Hallman.

Surviving Frances are her daughter, Susan Lewis Coley and son-in-law, Mark Coley of Smyrna, DE; grandson, Justin Lewis Broome, his wife Tiffany, and their daughter Skylar, of Waldorf, MD; granddaughter Abbey Broome Smith, Abbey's  husband Billy, and their daughters Addy and Caroline, of Felton, DE; and daughter-in-law Etterwa Lewis, of Harmony, NC.

Additional surviving family include Ellen Lewis Harris, her husband Glenn, and her son Charles as well as Dorothy and Noah Styles and many nieces, nephews, and "close as family" friends.

Frances' most fervent desire was to remain in her home throughout her final years, and a very special "Thank you" must go to Ellen and Glenn Harris, Melinda Groner, Martin Murphy, and Myra Joye for helping Frances achieve this desire.

Now it has come time to celebrate Frances' long life that so positively impacted so very many. Her calling ever was service to others, and she pursued this calling as a nurse until her reluctant retirement from Gaston Memorial Hospital in 1990. After retiring Frances served on overseas medical missions with her dear friends Dannie and Elaine Benjamin.

Frances was a lifelong member of First Baptist Church of Belmont. She graduated from Belmont High School, attended Mercy Hospital School of Nursing and graduated from Gaston College where she was Nursing Student of the Year.

A memorial service to celebrate Frances' life will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the First Baptist Church of Belmont. Rev. Beth Brittain will officiate. The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Dannie Benjamin Memorial Mission Fund, First Baptist Church, 23 N. Central Ave., Belmont, NC 28012. Because of the joy Frances found in puzzling, family and friends are asked to bring a 300 piece puzzle to the service to be donated to local care facilities.

Condolence messages may be sent to the family by visiting www.woodlawnfuneral.org. Woodlawn Funeral Home of Mount Holly is serving the family.

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