Susan Butler Lewis

With the recent and unexpected passing of Susan Butler Lewis, all who know her agree that the world has lost a bright light and one of those rare people who made an indelible positive impact on the lives of everyone she knew, whether they were family, friends, or students. Susan Butler Lewis was born to Dr. Edwin M. Butler and Redolia Davis Butler in Centrevile, MS. Growing up in Natchez, she was a member of the First United Methodist Church and was active in dance, Little Theater, horseback riding, and bayou vine swinging. While at Natchez High School, she was voted as a Class Favorite and Most Popular, was a member of the drill team, served on the Royal Court of the Pilgrimage Garden Club and Pageant and was a runner up in the first Miss Natchez Pageant. Continuing her education following high school, Susan attended the Mississippi State College for Women (“The W”), majoring in Philosophy. She was chosen as Vice President of her class, Secretary of the student body and dorm president. Susan was inducted into the Lantern Society , Kappa Mu Epsilon Math Club, and the Hottentots – a group of 35 outstanding women from the college, the Theater Guild, Palette and Brush and social organizations, the Rosettes and the Rogues. Susan continued her education at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where she was selected for Mortar Board and Phi Sigma Tau honorary society, served as a member of the Philosophy Society, and pledged the Alpha Mu chapter of Kappa Delta sorority. She also played the guitar and sang in coffee houses. Susan was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both English and Philosophy. Susan married Dr. James Waller Lambuth Lewis, a fellow student at Ole Miss, who had been a fixture in her life since the age of 10 when he became close friends with her brother, Edwin Jr. They began to date while at university together. Following their marriage, they lived in Colonial Beach, Virginia where Jim worked at the Dahlgren Naval Weapons Laboratory. Returning to Oxford, Jim earned his doctorate in Physics. After Oxford, Susan and family found their home in Tullahoma, TN where Jim worked at AEDC and later the University of Tennessee Space Institute where he was one of the founders of the Center for Laser Applications. Following a period of living in Belfast, Northern Ireland they returned to Tullahoma, where Susan was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Tullahoma Women’s Club, the AEDC Women’s Club, served as a troop leader for the Girl Scouts, was active in the South Jackson Civic Center as well as a multitude of other school and community activities. She enjoyed travel abroad and summering in Pawley’s Island, SC. Attaining her Masters degree in English at Middle TN State University with a 4.0 GPA, Susan joined the English Department at Tullahoma High School teaching Literature and Composition for 11 years. In 1992, she became a professor of English at Motlow Community College, serving as an advisor and editor of the college literary magazine, “The Distillery” and organized and directed the Tennessee Teaching Shakespeare Festival. Susan was a member and active participant in the Motlow Ladies Philanthropic Society, National Philological Association, the Motlow Storyteller’s Conference, the Modern Language Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, among others. She was a beloved mentor to her students, the kind of teacher who kept her students interested and motivated. When she taught ballads, she brought her guitar and sang them, because she said, “ballads were meant to be sung”. In 1993, Susan was awarded a Doctorate of Arts Fellowship at MTSU, and the next year she completed the coursework requirements for the degree Doctor of Arts, receiving the Frazier Writing Award and the Peck Award for Outstanding Student for English Studies. Throughout her professional life, Susan embraced the continued pursuit of knowledge, presenting scholarly papers at numerous literary conferences including the International Congress on Medieval Studies, the West Virginia Shakespeare and Renaissance Conference and the annual Philological Association conferences. In 1998 she served as a delegate and presenter at the Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideals in Haifa, Israel. Many of her papers were selected for publication. After retiring from Motlow in 2011, Susan devoted her time to her family and close friends and especially to her four grandchildren. In 2012, she became a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, an international philanthropic educational organization. She served as a chapter delegate to the Cottey College scholarship committee, serving on various scholarship projects. Susan’s greatest joy was her family: her husband of 58 years, Dr. James Waller Lambuth Lewis, her three daughters – Lisa Lambuth Lewis, Amy Susan Lewis (Hyams), and Megan Butler Lewis (Eidt) – her sons-in-law Brent Hyams, and Michael Eidt and her adored grandchildren: Susannah Butler Eidt, Harrison Lambuth Crawford Eidt, Lewis Butler Hyams, and Fentress Lambuth Hyams. She also leaves a beloved sister, Marion Butler Harding, two brothers-in-law, and nephews Thomas Butler Harding, South Lewis, Fletcher Lewis, and two sisterly cousins Ella Lou Butler Cox and Judy Butler McCollum and their families, as well as many other beloved family members. She is preceded in death by her father Dr. Edwin M. Butler, her mother, Redolia Davis Butler, and her brother Edwin M. Butler, Jr. To honor her legacy, the Susan Butler Lewis Memorial Scholarship has been established at Motlow College. You may donate online via PayPal through the following link: http://www.mscc.edu/advancement or through the Motlow Foundation Facebook page. After submitting, please designate the Susan Lewis Scholarship in the Special Instructions section. You may also mail a contribution to the Motlow College Foundation specifying the Susan Lewis Scholarship to P. O. Box 8500, Dept. 160, Lynchburg, TN 37352-8500. A memorial/celebration of life will be held at a future date and will be announced in print and social media.

Susan Butler Lewis

February 23, 1940 - June 10, 2019