Eleanor Letts Lewis

Eleanor Letts Lewis, age 99, (Ellie to all who loved her) passed away quietly in the early hours of May 27, 2023, at Crossland Retirement Community, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Born February 21, 1925, in Providence, Rhode Island, Ellie was the daughter of Federal Judge Ira Lloyd Letts and Madeline G. Letts. She attended The Mary C. Wheeler School in Providence, graduated from Dana Hall School, and received a B.A. in history, from Oberlin College in 1947.

That same year, she married George B. Lewis with whom she shared 73 happy years. She often said her favorite times were spent on their farm in Kennett Square with their children, horses, dogs, cats, several chickens, and beloved goat, Molly, who carefully bit off the heads of all the flowers Ellie worked so hard to cultivate. 

After marriage, Ellie taught first grade at Westchester Friends School. Later, she was an active volunteer with the Delaware Social Services Child Abuse Hotline and the Christ Church Youth Group. She also served on the boards of Tatnall School, the Delaware Red Cross, and the Red Clay Valley Conservancy. Her crowning achievement was 30 years as a volunteer for Delaware Hospice. Inspired by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s On Death and Dying and Kubler-Ross’s concept of death with dignity, Ellie began as a walk-in volunteer at age 60 when the organization’s doors were first opening. For her years of service, she was awarded the 2015 Paul Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award by Delaware Governor Jack Markel. On the night of the ceremony, she not only met the governor, whom she quite liked, but also Miss Delaware, whom she found equally impressive.

Ellie was an enthusiastic equestrian and a rabidly enthusiastic and indefatigable tennis and paddle ball player as many an opponent could attest. She loved music, theater, history, literature, and a glass of white wine before dinner. But more than any of that she loved her husband, kids, grandkids, and recent great grandchild, Lucy. And she in turn was loved by all: family, friends, the many people whose lives she touched through her volunteer work, as well as practically every four-legged creature she ever came into contact with. Only the chickens have been left off this list because as she pointed out, as much as she liked them, “I’m not sure chickens have a deep affection for anybody.”

She is survived by her children and their spouses: George B. Lewis Jr. and his wife Alexandra Mercer Warriner of Brooklyn, New York; Madeline Lewis and her husband Stanley Smokler of Landenberg, Pennsylvania; Houghton Lewis and his wife Joanna Lewis of Waxhaw, North Carolina; and six grandchildren and one great grandchild. 

Arrangements by Kuzo Funeral Home of Kennett Square, PA.

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