A resident of Statesboro for the last five years, Dorothy called Cartersville home. She was born the oldest of five children to Ashley "Pet" and Lucile Pevey in Effingham County on Oct. 20, 1923. She graduated valedictorian of Guyton High School in 1940 and moved to Savannah, where she was a bookkeeper for the Sapphire room at the De Soto Hotel. Dorothy was known for her smile, beauty and gentle spirit.
Dorothy married Lynn Merrill Lewis of Cartersville on Nov. 29, 1948, in Pensacola, Fla. Dorothy shared her Southern charm and warm spirit around the world as the young couple and their two sons followed Lynn's Air Force career to diverse posts in Germany, Morocco, Greece, Washington, D.C., and exotic Oklahoma.
In 1963, the couple returned to Georgia, settling in Cartersville, where they ran a Wishbone Fried Chicken restaurant and raised Lynn and Don. Dorothy was a faithful and lifelong volunteer and Sunday school teacher at Sam Jones Memorial United Methodist Church, where she was awarded a special membership in the Women's Society of Christian Service. She worked with Meals on Wheels into her 70s.
In addition, Dorothy was an avid reader, gifted gardener, hosted many bridge luncheons and made the best lemon ice box pie around. As a devoted grandmother, she guided and supported her grandchildren with gentleness. Above all, Dot was sweet, kind and extended her warm loving spirit through hundreds of thoughtful cards and letters. She will be sorely missed.
In 2006, Dorothy returned to east Georgia to be near siblings. Dorothy remained involved in the UMW as a member of Statesboro United Methodist Church and historian of the Daughters of the American Colonists.
Dorothy is proceeded in death, by her husband of 54 years, Lynn Merrill Lewis, and brother, Rodney Pevey, and survived by her children, Lynn (Rachel) and Donald (Donna); grandchildren, Liberty, Hunter and Nicole; and siblings, Albert Pevey, Shirley Bevill and Jerry Anne Singletary (Tom).
A memorial service was held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, at Sam Jones Memorial United Methodist Church, Cartersville, with Dr. Bill Burch officiating. In lieu of food and flowers, memorials may be made to the United Methodist Women (http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/give/ways/memory/).