Vida Lee Davidson Lewis

HUGHES SPRINGS -- Vida Lee Davidson Lewis was born into this world on Feb. 2, 1922 and entered her greater reward on Nov. 1. She was the first of six children of Hamlet and Cora Davidson born near Saltillo, Texas. She learned early how to cook, care for younger siblings, and to work hard in the West Texas cotton fields. She left the family and cotton fields at age eighteen, traveling by train to Arizona to find adventure and create a better life. She descended the Grand Canyon on a mule and possessed this courage and adventurous spirit through life by taking her first motorcycle ride on her 90th birthday. Vida’s mission and calling was to love and care for all, especially children. She cared for a family and children in Arizona before moving back to work as a hospital aide at Methodist Hospital in Dallas. Set up on a blind date by a future sister-in-law, Vida met Vernie Francis Lewis at the Texas State Fair in 1948. Having found loving partners, they married in 1949 and began a family of their own. She raised five children with ceaseless love, moral guidance, and gentle discipline. When that didn’t work, she’d say “just wait ‘til your daddy gets home.” Vida lost Vernie in 1970 still having young children to raise. To support her family, she babysat for dozens of other young children, giving them the same loving, motherly care that she blessed her own children with. One of Vida’s mottos was “to have a friend, you must be a friend.” She made friends for many decades as a member of the First Baptist Church of Hughes Springs, TOPS, Eastern Star (receiving the Crystal Globe Award in 2000 after fifty years of membership), enjoyed playing “42” with two groups, hosting parties and just loved Christmas gatherings. She sent cards for birthdays, anniversaries, get well and sympathy because she truly cared that others felt loved and cared for. She was thrilled by the beauty of nature, particularly the flowers around her home. Family surviving to cherish Vida’s life are sons and daughters, James and Karen Lewis, Stephen and Janet Lewis, Virginia and Randy Fretwell, Katherine and Mark Johnson, and Frances and Scott Parks. Grandchildren include Christopher Byrd, Casey Foster, Austin Lewis, Cheyenne Laywell, Shiloh Stephenson, Robert Parks, Joy Bragg, Ryan Kirkpatrick, Holly Latham, and Kent Pendleton. Following came eight handsome great-grandsons and five beautiful great- granddaughters. Her much loved sister, Faye Homer, is her only surviving sibling, with Grady, T.J., Murrel, and Ray predeceasing her. A number of nieces and nephews are spread across Texas and states west. Services for Ms. Lewis were held Nov. 4, at Reeder-Davis Chapel. Burial followed at Hughes Springs Cemetery under the direction of Reeder-Davis Funeral Home in Hughes Springs. An online guestbook may be signed at www.reeder-davis.com.