Obituary

Gwendolyn counts “squint” lewis, 85, of charleston, wv passed away monday, june 1, 2015 at saint francis hospital in charleston, wv. She was born on july 12, 1929, in kentuck, wv. She was the widow of the late henry b. Lewis, jr.  she was the daughter of the late thomas h. And adaline counts, both of jackson county.  she was also preceded in death by her son frederick bradford lewis of charleston, wv, three sisters,; izetta biancaniello and claudette hicks, of ripley, wv, and sandra sazlau of bowie, md, and three brothers; zane counts of saint albans, wv, edsel counts,of kentuck, wv, and huey counts, of salina, ks.  she is survived by her two sons, mitchell blake lewis (nahla), and thomas montgomery lewis (kim), and maureen lewis, widow of brad lewis, all of charleston, wv, sisters phyllis conaway and zalithia walters, of ripley, wv, and eight grandchildren, maria sadek (greg wallace), of frederick, md, gabrielle lewis,of charleston, wv, rachel lewis of runnemede, nj, maddy lewis, and alex lewis, both of charleston, wv, elise stevens (frank), of charleston, wv, chelsea lewis of charlotte, nc, and hank lewis, of frankford, de, and three great-grandchildren, zeid wallace, lewis and zane stevens, all of whom lovingly called her granny.

Aunt squint was also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.  she graduated from ripley high school in 1947.  following graduation, she followed her sisters to washington, d.C., where she worked for the federal bureau of investigation, and had a short career in modeling.  after returning to west virginia, she worked for the agricultural commission, where she met her husband and settled down in charleston.  after raising her children, she returned to her roots in jackson county where she bought a lovely old farm house.

She enjoyed spending her days tending to her vegetable garden and beautiful flowers while watching her grandchildren romp and play in the countryside.  she treasured her family and enjoyed hosting the annual family reunion for many years at the farm.  she was a wonderful, kind, generous, and spirited woman.  she loved to read, her favorite color was purple, and she loved feeding and watching the birds.  she was an avid new york yankees fan and enjoyed watching the local minor league teams over the years.

She was an inspiration to all, having survived laryngeal cancer over 30 years ago.  she enjoyed working with the veterans and was a longstanding member of the ripley vfw, ladies auxiliary.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank all of the wonderful and compassionate care given to her by dr. Tony and the staff of the pcu at saint francis hospital and also to her in home caregivers barbara eggleton, bonnie bishop, and tammy reavis.

Funeral service will be 12 noon, friday, june 5, 2015 at st. John’s episcopal church, charleston with the rev. Marquita l. Hutchens officiating. Burial will follow at springhill cemetery, charleston. The family will receive visitors from 5 to 7 p.M. Thursday, june 4 at barlow bonsall funeral home in charleston.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to st. John’s episcopal church, address: 1105 quarrier street, charleston, wv, 25301
or the audubon society, address: p.O. Box 420235, palm coast, fl, 32142.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.Barlowbonsall.Com. Barlow bonsall funeral home, charleston has been entrusted with the arrangements.