Rosellen D. Lewis

   Rosellen Dudgeon Lewis, 98, of Pocatello, Idaho, died July 31 at the Rockwood Retirement Community in Spokane, WA, where she had resided for seven years. She was born on July 1, 1922 to Paul and Lola Dudgeon in Willshire, Van Wert County, OH. Rosellen grew up in OH, IN, NY, and in MI, where she graduated from Birmingham High School. She attended Michigan State College where she met her future husband, C. Gordon Lewis, on a blind date at the MSC Engineers’ Ball. They married on October 9, 1942 in East Lansing, MI. They had one daughter and two sons whom they raised in Richland and Sunnyside, WA.
   Rosellen designed their three homes in Sunnyside, WA; San Jose, CA; and Pocatello, ID. She was a pioneer in creating unique, state-of-the-art kitchens, with a special focus on cabinetry. As a musician, she played the violin in Sunnyside in the annual Messiah performance for the First Methodist Church, and in an orchestra for musicals. She also sang in the church choir. Rosellen and her devoted husband of sixty-six years were avid hikers and frequented many national parks. Other interests included canoeing, ice skating, snowshoeing, bridge, and gardening. She particularly loved cultivating roses.
   Once her children were grown, Rosellen relished the opportunity to travel abroad, including visiting host families for her daughter and younger son in West Germany and Sweden, respectively, as well as staying with her younger son’s family in Sri Lanka and Bolivia. She was known for her warm hospitality, often housing guests from other countries as well as family and friends living stateside. Hosting dinner parties and bridge clubs were regular activities in her later years, as was raising canaries that she encouraged to sing beautifully.
   A woman of deep faith, Rosellen was an avid Bible reader and took classes at the San Jose Bible College in CA. Over the years, she participated in numerous church ministries, including a tape ministry providing access to church services. She was an ardent member of the Women’s Aglow Fellowship. Rosellen had a gift for writing poetry inspired by scripture and her faith.
   Rosellen is survived by her daughter, Carol Hopkins of Sammamish, WA; and two sons, Alan (Tracy) Lewis of Spokane, WA, and Wayne (Laurie) Lewis of Arlington, VA; nine grandchildren: Allison, Peter, Shannon, Andrew, Audrey, Stephen, Kristina, Stephanie and Heidi; and six great-grandchildren: Chloe, Hunter, London, Bodhi, Gemma and Faris. She is also survived by a first cousin, Marianne McClintock of Thousand Oaks, CA; and an exchange student from Germany, Kurt Buettner, who was like a son.
   The funeral service will be on Thursday, August 13, at 11:00am in the First Presbyterian Church, 202 S. 7th Ave., Pocatello, with interment to follow at Restlawn Memorial Gardens, Pocatello. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.cornelisonfh.com. In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made to Aglow International at www.aglow.org .

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