Janet Lynn Lewis

Janet Lynn Lewis was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on Valentine’s Day in 1958 – God’s way of announcing to the world that he had given us a person made of love. Jan lit up the world around her. Everyone who met her fell in love with her delight in small things, her innate and incredible kindness, and her generosity of spirit. She always thought of others before herself, and one of her greatest joys was making people smile.

A voracious reader, Jan loved immersing herself in lyrical language, long-past epochs, and fantastical worlds through literature. She owned hundreds of books and was rarely without one in hand. She was also an avid movie fan, and nothing made her grin like a well-timed, masterfully delivered one-liner. Her eloquence and perfectly twisted sense of humor are testaments to her lifelong love affair with excellent stories and clever words.

Jan didn’t just stop to smell the roses. She delighted in the spring sunshine, the colors of fall, the brief glimpse of a hummingbird, and counting falcons in the sky. She saw the world with an almost child-like glee, and she shared that unique joy with those of us lucky enough to be around her. She had an eye for photography and a desire to capture everything she saw on film. Looking through Jan’s vacation photos, you can feel the sun on your skin and the fine spray that comes from wind blowing over the Caribbean Sea. You can hear the deep bells of St. Peter’s Basilica ringing over the bustle of tourists. You can smell the perfume of pine trees. You can feel her joy and awe.

Jan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Over the next four years, she fought sickness and exhaustion, but she also fought to maintain a sense of normalcy and a ready laugh for the people who loved her. Her biggest concern was being a burden or a source of sadness for her friends and family, and her natural inclination to mask her pain and exude joy was just a part of who she was. With a joke, a hug, genuine interest, and the most beautiful, sincere smile you’ve ever seen, she inspired admiration and devotion everywhere she went. Jan is loved by more people, and more deeply, than she ever knew…because loving others was part of who she was. She was everyone’s Valentine.

She created a family out of people who would have been strangers if not for her. Jan was the matriarch of us all, the glue that held us all together. She taught us by example what it really means to love. She made us better people.

Jan passed away peacefully in her home in Dallas, Texas, the morning of June 24th. She is preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Fred Tosch, Sr. and Aline Tosch; by her maternal grandparents, Clyde and Annie Fox; and by her father, Fred Tosch, Jr. Jan is survived by her mother, Betty Fox Tosch; her husband, Jack Lewis; and her daughter, Kristy Blackmon. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, June 30 at 2:00 pm at Grove Hill Funeral Home, 3920 Samuell Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75228.