9-12-1923 to 2-13-2017
Mary Belle Jones Lewis joined her Heavenly Father on Feb. 13, 2017. She enjoyed 93 years of good and abundant life.
She was predeceased by her father and mother, Roland C. Jones and Laura Belle Foster Jones, two brothers and one sister.
She graduated from Mathews High School in 1941, and later worked at Cheatham Annex, where she rekindled her friendship with fellow Mathews High graduate Frank Raymond Lewis, who became her husband in 1948. The couple moved to Gloucester in 1951, where they lived for the rest of their lives, raising their daughters, and commuting to jobs “across the river.” She retired from the Naval Weapons Station in 1983.
Mary Belle’s greatest loves were family, friends, and community. She loved to help others and knew that she could always count on her family and friends in return. Among the things that brought her great joy were sewing her children’s clothes, collecting cookbooks and trying new recipes, taking vacations and short trips with family and friends, and going antiquing with her best friend, Elsie Bryant. She also loved Sunday school, Circle meetings, and other church activities first at Newington Baptist Church and later at Petsworth Baptist Church. She enjoyed babysitting her grandchildren at every opportunity.
She is survived by her husband of 69 years; her daughters, Susan Dutton (Tommy) of Gloucester and Sara Lewis (Ken Schmidt) of Williamsburg; her grandchildren, Jesse Dutton (Heather), Mark Dutton (Leigh Ann), Elizabeth Hogge (Daniel), and Lewis Flanary; as well as step-grandsons, Matthew and Thomas (Anna) Schmidt, and her great-grandchildren, Jackson, Emerson, Sam, Timmy, Cary, Bryce, Brooke, Charlotte, and Hugo.
The family will receive guests at Petsworth Baptist Church from 1-2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, with funeral services starting at 2 o’clock. Interment will follow at Smithers Cemetery in Mathews.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Petsworth Baptist Church Building Fund, 2471 Hickory Fork Road, Gloucester, Va. 23061.
The family also wishes to thank her caregivers, Pat King, Carolyn Gibbs, Monessa Flowers, and Cherry Carr. Their loving care has been a blessing.
Andrews Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.