Reble Eloise Conn Lewis

“Bootsie”

1924-2019

Reble Eloise (Conn) Lewis, 95 years old, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 26,

2019. She is survived by her four children (three sons and one daughter), eight grandchildren,

two great granddaughters as well as many nieces and nephews and three sisters. She was

preceded in death by her parents and three of her sisters.

Boots, a nickname given to her by her father when she was a young girl, was born in

Blackwood (Wise County) Virginia to Leslie and Mary (West) Conn. Boots was the second of

seven girls and grew up in the Crane Creek coal mining community in McComas, West Virginia.

Boots was always a hard working individual; she went to work for the American Coal Co/Crane

Creek Tipple Company Store as soon as she was old enough to be hired.

Her family moved from McComas to Portsmouth, Virginia when Boots was in her last year of

high school. She graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in the class of 1943. After high

school Boots went to work for the US Naval Yard in Portsmouth as a typist. From there she

decided she wanted to move to the big city; so she, along with one of her sisters, moved to

Washington DC.

While in DC she held various secretarial positions. It was there she met and began dating a

third generation Washingtonian. Later they would marry and settle in Catonsville, Maryland

and have their four children.

Boots was a stay at home mother in the 1950/1960’s and enjoyed gardening, sewing and

baking something everyday. After her children were older, Boots went to work part time at the

local department store, Hutzlers Westview. With the money Boots earned she purchased a piano;

she always wanted her children to learn to play a musical instrument and her wish came true.

Boots went on to work full time for an import/export company in downtown Baltimore. After

her family relocated from Catonsville to Rockville, Boots went to work for the Federal

Government where she worked her way up from a Grade 4 Clerk Typist to a Grade 12 Contracts

and Grants Officer by the time she retired. Most would retire at this age, but Boots, being the

hard worker she was, went on to work many more years as a Manager and Makeup Artist for a

cosmetic store in the Atlanta area.

After finally retiring (in her late eighties) Boots moved to Tennessee where she enjoyed sitting

on her porch swing, reading, decorating her home for the holidays and birdwatching. As with

most, there came a time when Boots needed to live closer to her children, so she moved west to

be closer to them.

As she wished, Boots will be laid to rest in the Mausoleum at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery

in Erwin Tennessee. A private gathering is planned for the immediate family to celebrate her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her name to the Audubon Society.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.dignitymemorial.com for the Lewis family.