Frances Jones Lewis

Frances (Fran) Jones Lewis of Dalton, age 80, died Wednesday, March 1st, 2023, of Parkinson’s disease.

Mrs. Lewis grew up in Dalton, Georgia, daughter of Frances and Alfred Jones. At Dalton High School (class of 1960) she was a star basketball player. She developed an interest in flying and received her student pilot’s license by the age of 18.

After graduating from Emory University in 1964, she worked for six years in Christian Education for Presbyterian churches in Seneca and Spartanburg, South Carolina. She moved to Atlanta in 1970 to begin a 25-year career in the Social Security Administration in their Regional Office. While there she met and married Richard (Dick) Bridges and was an avid gardener, golfer, and runner. She ran in the Peachtree Road Race for many years. She and Dick traveled extensively and enjoyed outdoor adventures like white water rafting and exploring Alaska.

Several years after Dick’s passing, Fran met Robert (Bob) M. Lewis of Atlanta in their church choir. They married in 2001 and lived in Roswell until 2008 when they moved to her hometown of Dalton to a house built by her parents in 1969. She loved returning to the church in which she was raised and became very involved in its ministry and work. Bob died in 2019, and soon after that, her sister, Laurie White of Dalton, also passed away.

Fran Lewis is survived by her sister, Henrietta (Comer) Turley of Dalton, and five nieces and nephews: Comer (Kim) Turley III of Ft. Myers, FL; Alfred (Heidi) Turley of Dalton; Rebecca (Rob) Russell and Hetty White of Atlanta and Robert White of Brooklyn, NY, as well as many great-nieces and nephews. Also surviving are her husband Bob’s children, Rob (Lori) Lewis of Loganville, GA, Beth (Bill) Douglas of Dunwoody, GA, and Marti (Steve) Schwab of Haysville, NC, as well as Bob’s grandchildren and her beloved canine companion, Roscoe.

A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 101 S Selvidge St., Dalton GA, 30720, on Saturday, March 11th at 2:30 pm. The family will receive friends starting at 1 pm.

Fran had a deep love of choral music particularly organ music, so in lieu of flowers she requested that donations be made to First Presbyterian Church Music Fund (PO Box 489, Dalton GA 30722) or to the DEO Clinic, providing health care to the uninsured low-income people of Dalton (DEO Clinic P.O. Box 814, Dalton, GA 30722).