One of my favorite lines about Pauline "Mom" Lewis was telling people that she was sleeping in Conway Twitty's bed.
Of course, then I'd explain that The Lewis Family bluegrass-gospel group of Lincolnton, Ga., had bought the late Conway Twitty's customized touring bus, and that Mom Lewis was assigned Twitty's former bed and stateroom in the back of the bus.
That tour bus was used Feb. 10 in Mom Lewis' funeral procession; traveling from Rees Funeral Home in downtown Lincolnton to Hephzibah Baptist Church, a few miles out of town, on the Lincolnton-Washington highway.
Mrs. Lewis, 92, died Saturday, Feb. 8, leaving behind her husband of 77 years, Roy "Pop" Lewis, 97, and five sisters, seven children, 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Lewis staffed the family's merchandise sales table while the performing members of the family were onstage. She did that up until about five years ago.
The Rev. Steve Snider, a nephew of Mrs. Lewis, delivered an eloquent, personal eulogy in which he noted his Aunt Pauline had ridden 800,000 miles on the Twitty bus.
The Rev. Snider also noted Mrs. Lewis had ridden 1,146,000 miles on the bus used by The Lewis Family before the Twitty bus; more than 1 million miles on the bus before that; more than 750,000 miles on the bus before that; and an uncountable number of miles in the Cadillac touring cars the family used in the late 1950s, strapping their upright bass fiddle on the roof.
Music, as you would expect, figured prominently in the service. Her grandson, Cal Lewis, concertmaster with the symphony orchestra in Youngstown, Ohio, played a violin medley of hymns, beginning with Nearer My God to Thee.
Three of The Lewis Family's '60s-era recordings for Starday Records later were played: The Homecoming Week, How Beautiful Heaven Must Be and The Pearly White City.
Especially touching was the playing of She's Loved Him For So Many Years, recorded by Sheri Williamson Easter. She and her husband, Jeff, who sing regularly on Bill Gaither's Homecoming TV specials, joined Aaron Wilburn in co-writing the song about her Lewis grandparents' elopement and long marriage.
Scott Williamson, a pallbearer and grandson, later would say he could hear his grandfather clearly saying, "That's a good one," after several of the songs were played.
And that was also true of his late wife. She was a good one. And the many, many fans and friends and family of The Lewis Family who had the pleasure of knowing her will deeply miss her.
Don Rhodes has written about country music for 32 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at ramblin@morris.com.
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