BEVERLY: Elizabeth Cable Lewis “Nana” passed away peacefully in her home early in the morning on Monday, December 7, 2015 surrounded by family following a battle with cancer. She was 86.
Nana, as she was fondly known throughout Beverly, was born on February 13, 1929 in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England to Florence Nickels and Matthew Claude Cable. She was predeceased by her first husband, William Irving Lee, Jr., and her second husband, Robert Emerson Lewis.
She is survived by her seven children: Virginia Slack, Barbara Brown, William I. Lee III and his wife Elizabeth, Jan Plourde and her husband Herb, Darcy Lewis, Margaret Kelley and her husband Donald, and Matthew Lewis and his wife Helen. She leaves 10 beautiful grandchildren: Eric Slack and his wife Heather, Emily Chesley, Nathan Brown, Victoria Lee, Sophia Kelley and her husband Greg Thornton, Molly (Kelley) and her husband Daniel Merluzzi, Vanessa Kelley, Amanda Lewis, Narayan Plourde and Henry Lewis as well as her brother, Derek Clive Cable and her best friend of 67 years, Jennie Tofil. Her sister, Olive, and her brothers Roy and Graham predecease her.
Liz Lewis’ life was rich and enriching and as she would say, “she had good innings.” She came to the U.S. as a young British war bride in 1946, married to a North Shore guy and soon coming to feel that Beverly was her home. She lived in both England and Beverly before finally settling back to Beverly in 1970 where the family remains. She had many life experiences that she shared in her wonderful stories that people all loved to hear.
Nana was a leader in her field of early childhood education. She founded Beverly Community Playschool in 1973 and First Friends Daycare in 1981 where she taught and mentored many children and families.
There will be a memorial service in her honor to be held at 3pm on Thursday, December 10th at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 705 Hale St., Beverly Farms followed by a celebratory cup of tea with Nana’s family in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to The REAL Program, 151 Ocean St. Lynn, MA 01902 or Beverly Rotary Club, P.O. Box 201, Beverly, MA 01915.