Grace Maria Lewis

Grace Maria Lewis Resident of Walnut Creek Grace M. Lewis died peacefully at her home on Monday the 27th of April 2015, surrounded by her family and friends. Born Graciela Maria Morelli to Sicilian immigrants, she was raised in the tenements of the lower east side of Manhattan, New York, with her older brother, Tony. She attended St Cecilias School until the age of 13 and completed her education at Julia Richman High School where she graduated with honors in 1946. She loved her time at high school where she was a star pupil in all subjects and became proficient at speed typing and Pittman shorthand. Although she was offered a full academic scholarship to attend college, she went directly into work as a secretary in a real estate agency. She was eventually able to move her family out of the lower east side to a more comfortable apartment in Rego Park in the New York City borough of Queens. Her High School Yearbook states that her ambition was to be a Private Secretary in a Theatrical Agency. In 1951, she moved to Hollywood to take a job as personal assistant for Anita Ekberg, a wild young star on the rise. They must have made quite a pair. During this time she met John Wayne and was offered a job with him when he founded his own studio, Batjac Productions. While working there, she met and married Ron Lewis. They shared a passion for travel and soon were living in Rio de Janeiro, where her son Paul was born. Her daughter, Victoria, was born in Burbank, CA two years later and then the family spent three years in Geneva, Switzerland before finally settling in Walnut Creek in 1965. She was always happiest when she was busy. She must have tried her hand at every craft known, and after an Adult Ed class in cake decorating, started a business making wedding cakes from home, where she offered advice not only in wedding planning but also in relationship success. Under the name of Chipper, she was a Girl Scout leader for many years, the city girl learning how to camp for the first time. Despite her recent physical decline, she insisted on being the one to oversee the production of 60 cannoli shells, carefully teaching her grandchildren exactly how to carry on the family tradition. Her 3 grandchildren, Megan, Kathleen and Molly Marsh were her pride and joy from the moment they were born. Following her divorce, she went back to full time work as a secretary at Las Lomas High School, first in the Attendance Office and later in the Counselling Office, where she will always be remembered as 'Amazing Grace'. She loved nothing more than working with young people because she was always young. She was an influential and guiding force in the lives of more children than she will ever know. She retired in 1993 and spent several years fulfilling her passion for travelling the world. Although these trips involved organised tours, she often grumbled that the other participants didnt quite share her enthusiasm for experiencing the local culture - both the people and the food. Retirement never really suited her however, so she returned to work part time for the Acalanes School District in the Adult Education Center. She only left when they no longer had funding for her at the age of 80. She loved opera, ballet and especially Ludwig van Beethoven. She was romantic, headstrong and loved being in charge. She is survived by shelves of cookbooks and a million recipe cards a testament to her passion for cooking and sharing wonderful food with wonderful friends. Indeed, her friends are countless - she formed friendships easily with the most likely and unlikely people and her gift was helping them to believe in themselves. Grace was passionate about the arts, music, culture and broadening the minds of those around her. She was an avid listener to KQED both radio and television - and loved their innovative educational, cultural, and public affairs programming. In lieu of flowers, please remember her by making donations to help sustain the work of KQED in enriching the lives of others. The necessary forms can be found at: http://www.kqed.org/support/giftplanning/memorials-tributes.jsp Please join us for a celebration of Grace's life at her home in Walnut Creek on Saturday, August 29th, at 1 pm. We will begin a special tribute to Grace at 2:30 and welcome any poems, thoughts, and memories you may want to contribute. Please bring a favorite dish to share if you like. (No flowers please.) We hope to see you there. For more information, call 925.939.7547. Celebration of Life Saturday, August 29, 2015 01:00 pm