Betty Joan Lewis

She was born in Findlay, Ohio on April 24, 1930, to Harlan Sayles Lawrence and Verald Candace Wilkins,

rounding out a trio of three daughters. She married Keith Lewis in February 1955, and had three children, Keith

Harlan Lewis, Bryan Lewis, and Marylyn Lewis-Ernsberger.

When her father abruptly died in 1933, Betty, her sisters, and their mother spent time on Verald’s family farm,

where Betty loved singing songs and hearing stories from her grandparents, and also causing a little mischief.

She once got stuck in a milk can so far that her sisters had to call their grandfather for help, who in turn had to

call community members to help get her unstuck.

Betty graduated from Bronson High School, where she was a clarinet player in the marching band and member

of the girls’ basketball team in the era where girls were only allowed to play half-court. Music and basketball

were mainstays in her life, loving both John Philips Sousa and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

She graduated from the nursing program at Leila Y. Post Montgomery Hospital in 1954, and worked in

operating rooms. Betty also attended Ohio State University for a short period after nursing school (but never

told her children she didn’t graduate in an effort to make sure they finished school). Betty and Keith moved to

Governors Island, New York, where Keith was stationed in the Army, and moved back to Orland in 1957. She

stopped nursing to raise her family and help Keith in his farming endeavors, including packing, gathering, and

delivering eggs when the couple had up to 40,000 layer hens.

In the 1980s, Betty started Lewis Insurance Agency in Angola. Her son Bryan joined her after college before he

attended law school. She sold the business when she and her husband moved to Las Vegas in the late 1980s,

where they lived for nearly 30 years. There, Betty dusted off her nursing degree and worked in an outpatient

surgical center. They returned to Orland full-time to help her daughter and son-in-law raise their children as

Marylyn went to law school.

Betty was very proud of her children. Her son Harlan was a beloved businessman who managed the Town

Market in Orland until his sudden death in 1997. She loved to tell people she had two attorneys, Bryan and

Marylyn.

She had a very playful and social spirit, and was always a merciless opponent in any outdoor, card, or board

game. Betty was the life of any gathering, lighting up any room she walked into, always ready for a good laugh.

Ever the social butterfly, she called friends and family daily through her final days.

She was a true believer in daily exercise, and joined the ladies league at Zollner Golf Course in the 1970s. She

continued to take walks in the driveway with her walker and do chair yoga in her latest years. As anyone who

took her to and from her water aerobics sessions at the Angola YMCA could tell you, Betty was the most

popular girl in class.

After turning 90, Betty often said she hoped to live long enough to tell her great-grandson, Judd Harlan

Blackburn, about his namesakes. She is survived by a family who can also proudly tell him about her.

Betty is preceded in death by her parents; sisters Barbara (Jack) Doerr and Beverly (Charlie) Starrett; husband

Keith Lewis; and son Harlan Lewis. She is survived by her children Bryan (Kim) Lewis of Orland; Marylyn (Dan)

Lewis-Ernsberger of Orland; grandchildren Abigail Lewis, Amanda Lewis, Andrea (Dane) Blackburn, Andrew

Lewis, Benjamin Lewis, Spencer Lewis, Cheri Wolfe, Emily Ernsberger, and Jacob Ernsberger;

great-grandchildren, Lilly, Jase, Judd, Lilah, Derek, Austin, Blake, and Aubrey; several nieces and nephews;

and a sister-in-law, Marylyn Lewis Hackett of Angola.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2 pm Sunday, May 15, 2022 at the Orland United Methodist Church, Orland, Indiana. Rev. Donna Holcomb will officiate the service.

There will be one hour of visitation prior to the service from 1 pm until 2 pm Sunday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Orland Public Library, Orland Fire Department, Orland United Methodist Church, Angola YMCA, or Parkview Hospice.

Condolences and fond memories of Mrs. Lewis may be sent online to www.beamsfuneralhome.com.