Dorothy May Lewis

On August 9th, Dorothy M. Lewis passed away after a brief illness with her family by her side. What the world lost, Heaven gained. Dorothy "Dot" was truly a one in a million. She was kind, smart, hardworking, straight forward, creative, in charge, funny and loving! Everyone that met her loved her even if she was telling them what to do!

Dorothy was born in Great Falls, MT on May 5th, 1930 to Edith and Rudolph Bauch. She grew up in the mountains of Belt, MT with her three brothers, Julius "Dick". Bauch, Daniel Bauch and Robert Bauch. Later her family moved to Simms, MT, where she graduated from High School in 1948. In 1950, she married Levi Loss of Fairfield, MT. They had two children. Teresa Bustos (Dave) and Clint Loss .(Gina) That union was later dissolved.

Dorothy married Ken Peenstra of Kalispell, MT in 1980. She retired soon after from the IRS after more than 20 years to become a fulltime snow bird in Arizona. They later became full time residents of Leisure World in Mesa, AZ. Ken passed away September of 2000.

Dorothy loved to play golf! She always came in 1st or 2nd in golf tournaments. Then there was Bridge and sewing. She was famous for her scrubbies, Afghans, and quilts. She also volunteered at numerous charity functions. She also loved to dance.

After Ken' s death, she met the love of her life, Ezra "Buck" Lewis. They were married in January of 2004. They started dancing together the first day they met. As she would say, "We have been dancing ever since!" They were residing in Leisure World in Mesa, AZ at the time of her death.

Dorothy is survived by her two children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The grandchildren are Charity Christofferson, Bethany Chistofferson and Lance Chistofferson(Jenny). The great-grandchildren are Ella Sundquist, Caroline Chistofferson and Kane Chistofferson. She will also be missed by Ken Peenstra' s three son's families. They all considered her as their Grandma too.

Cremation has already taken place. Celebrations of her life will be held September 24th in Helena, MT and October 30th in Leisure World at 1:00pm in Mesa, AZ. Memorials can be made to the Great Falls/Helena Chapter of Project Linus, PO Box 656, Helena, MT 59624.

Arrangements under the direction of Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park and Funeral Care, Mesa, AZ.