Nancy Froelich Lewis

Nancy led a life full of travel and adventure. She was born in Canton, Ohio, in 1935. Despite the struggles her family faced during the Great Depression, she had a happy childhood filled with many friends. At her first job, begun at age 10, she stuffed envelopes for her parents’ printing company, earning 50 cents an hour. Summers were spent helping her beloved Aunt Cal and Uncle Bill on their farm in Ravenna. She and her family welcomed a younger sister, Lynda, in 1946.

Nancy had a lifelong passion for flight. When she was a teen, her Uncle Eddie, who was an amateur pilot, took her on her first airplane ride over rural Ohio. Nancy was thrilled, and she never stopped flying. As a young adult, in the early days of commercial flight, Nancy worked as a flight attendant for TWA. Based in Kansas City, she often flew to New York, where she grew to love the excitement of city life.

She met and married Walter O. Nicolet, a fellow Cantonian and former Air Force pilot, in 1957. She and Walt had three children (Michelle, Denise, and Wally) in five years, and the family relocated to the Chicago suburbs in 1968. Despite the demands of motherhood, she was an active volunteer with the Junior League and other charities in her communities.

Following a divorce, Nancy moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1972, where she worked for her father at Frito-Lay of Hawaii. There she met the love of her life, J. Kenneth Lewis, whom she married in 1976.

Ken and Nancy shared a passion for adventure. Over the decades, they lived overseas and in remote places, including Malaysia, Australia, Alaska, and Utah, and enjoyed travel to dozens of other countries. Nancy continued her charitable work during this time, most notably spearheading publication of The Two Billion Dollar Cookbook a collection of recipes from Alaskan oil spill cleanup workers, which benefited an antihunger group in Anchorage.

Nancy built lifelong friendships around the world. She loved nothing more than to bring people together, and she was a creative and enthusiastic entertainer.

Following Ken’s retirement, Nancy settled in Sugar Land, Texas, where they enjoyed reconnecting with many friends made in the oil business over the years and were active members of the Sugar Creek Country Club.

Nancy is survived by her sister Lynda Gruver, daughters Michelle Nicolet and Denise Groth, sons in law Marshall Burt and David Groth, and grandchildren Madeline Burt, Taylor Groth, Nicholas Burt, and Kathryn Groth. She was preceded in death by her husband, John Kenneth Lewis, her parents, Kenneth and Kathryn Froelich, and her son, Walter F. Nicolet.

A private memorial at a later date is planned. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Hawaii Community Foundation in Nancy’s name.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.settegastkopf.com for the Lewis family.