IN MEMORIAM: Dorothy Lewis, 92,

First Oneontan To Enlist In WAVES

ONEONTA – Funeral services are Saturday for Dorothy Moore Lewis, 92, who during World War II became the first woman from Oneonta to enlist in the WAVES (the Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), who passed away Sunday at the Chestnut Park Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.

She was born Sept. 24, 1922, in Oneonta, the daughter of George F. and Nellie (Thomas) Moore. She graduated from Oneonta High School in 1940 and served in the WAVES from 1943 to 1946. She trained at Hunter College and was stationed in Washington, D.C., and Hawaii.

On April 2, 1946, she married Fred J. Lewis in Laurens, a marriage that lasted 68 years. She was a homemaker in the true sense of the word and was always ready to volunteer as a classroom mother, Scout leader, to work at a rummage sale or to canvass for a charity. She also worked on the Fifth Ward Election Board for many years.

She was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.

She is survived by her children Joanne (Stanley) Fuller, Delhi; Jeanne Lewis, Oneonta; James (Diane) Lewis, Kirkwood; Janice (Kevin) Yost, Canajoharie; and Julie Lewis, Oneonta.

She is also survived by her grandchildren Kelly (Philip) Snyder, Bloomingdale; Patrick (Melinda) Lewis, Binghamton; Lindsey (John) White, Ithaca; Jillian Lewis, Charleston, S.C.; Megan (Jeremy) Dietz, Liverpool; and Katie Yost, Saratoga. Also surviving are great-grandchildren Annabelle Snyder, Avery and Adam Lewis, Gavin White and Emma Dietz.

She was predeceased by her husband, Fred J. Lewis, on Aug. 2, 2014; her granddaughter Cara Fuller in 2012; and her sister, Betty Whitbeck.

Calling hours will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home, 51 Dietz St., Oneonta. A funeral service will be there at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the Rev. Paul Messner officiating. Burial will follow at the Glenwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Alzheimer’s Association Northeastern New York Chapter (Leatherstocking Region), 4 Pine West Plaza, Suite 405, Albany, NY 12205.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to, www.lhpfuneralhome.com

The family extends their deepest thanks and appreciation to the staff at Chestnut Park for the care that she received.