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Elinor Lewis, 82, passed away peacefully in her home, after a valiant battle with cancer, on Saturday, May 25, 2019.
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Funeral services were held June 1 at the Mesquite, Nev., LDS stake center.
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She was born Sept. 12, 1936, in Winslow to Chester and Mary Heywood Lewis. From a young age she would go out in the desert by Holbrook to work her father’s petrified wood claims. She loved petrified wood for the rest of her life and had many pieces in her home. Along with collecting petrified wood, Elinor loved to collect old fashioned Valentines, big sparkly jewelry, handkerchiefs and flowers.
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Elinor’s parents built the Wigwam Motel on Route 66. She was very proud of it and spent a lot of her life helping to run the motel. Radio hosts would call and talk to her about the motel and would call her Madame Wigwam. While working at the Wigwams she was featured on many shows, including Oprah Winfrey’s.
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Elinor was an accomplished pianist. She never hid this talent under a bushel and was willing to play for anyone who requested it.
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Elinor was a woman who served. In 2000, she went on a Family History Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. She loved volunteering in her grandchildren’s classes at school. Elinor worked in the Snowflake Temple and the St. George Temple in Utah. She was a volunteer at the Family History Center in Mesquite, loved indexing, and made friends wherever she served.
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When she was 80 years old, Elinor earned her Young Women’s Medallion the same year as her granddaughter, Margaret. She continued to work on personal progress and received two honor bees for her service.
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Family was very important to Elinor. She enjoyed traveling to Mexico with her brother Clifton and his wife Idalia. She loved all of her nieces and nephews and stayed in touch with them no matter how far they were. Her grandchildren were her crowning jewels. She greatly anticipated her yearly visits with her grandchildren in Florida and she was glad to spend her last years in Mesquite with many of them nearby.
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For 70 years Elinor struggled with depression. She courageously battled these dark feelings every day during a time where not a lot of help was available. Often alone, she turned to our Savior knowing that He understood her plight. Despite all of this, and as a single mother for many years, she raised and provided for her four living children. Mom, for this you are our hero.
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She is survived by her sons, Bill (Rocio) Julien of Florida and Nephi (Melissa) Julien of Bunkerville, Nev.; daughters, Carol (Bill) Thielman and Victoria (Merlin) Hafen of Mesquite, Nev.; 13 grandchildren; brothers, Clifton (Idalia) Lewis of Holbrook, Bob (Jean) Lewis of Gilbert, Paul (Noami) Lewis and John Lewis of Texas.
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She was preceded in death by her children, Karen Lynn and David; her parents; brothers, Chester and Byron; sister, Pauline; and nieces and nephews, Mari, Sarita, Chett and Devon Lewis.
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