Shirley S. Lewis

Shirley Anne Savage Lewis, 89, passed away in Fairfax Inova Hospital on July 29, 2025, with her family by her side. She is survived by the Rev. G. Douglass Lewis, her two children (G. Douglass Lewis Jr. and Laura Lewis Mead), and her five grandchildren (Julianna Fairchild Lewis, Sophia Douglass Lewis, Katherine Anne Mead, Grace Elizabeth Mead, and John Douglass Mead). A “Celebration of Life” will be held for Shirley at National United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. on September 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm. All who knew her are invited.

Shirley was born on November 29, 1935, in Linden, Tenn. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she met her future husband, Douglass Lewis of Lexington. They married on August 11, 1957, and together they enjoyed a loving partnership for 68 years. Responding to new challenges and opportunities over the years, they moved several times, to Nashville, Durham, N.C., Chicago, West Hartford, Conn., Hamburg, Germany, Cambridge, England, Athens, Tenn., and Washington, D.C. It was in Washington where Douglass served as the president of Wesley Theological Seminary for 20 years until his retirement in 2002. Along the way, Shirley raised two children, taught school, and sold real estate. Upon retirement, she continued to manage a home, travelled to see family and lifelong friends, and often hosted guests from the USA and abroad.

She received a B.A. degree in business at the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in American studies from Trinity College in Hartford.

Shirley’s lifelong passions were animals, family, and friendships. She cherished the time spent helping raise her five grandchildren. Among her close friends were members of her book club, in which she was involved for more than 35 years. She attended many high school reunions and family events in her hometown of Linden.

Her sense of humor and wealth of entertaining stories about people she knew, her endearing country accent, her generosity, and her love of all around her, will be remembered by all of us forever.

In lieu of gifts, the family asks that donations be sent to either WETA https://weta.org/ or the American Humane Society https://www.americanhumane.org/