Carolyn L. Lewis

Carolyn L. Lewis passed away on September 16, 2026. Carolyn was born in Bozeman, Montana on September 7, 1936, to James and Alvina Baker. She had three siblings, Deloris Welch, Richard Baker, and James Baker, who all preceded her in death. They may have not always had the best things or new school clothes, but mom said they were tough when she grew up. They still had an outhouse that they had to use, prior to getting an indoor bathroom.

She attended Gallatin County High School, which later became known as Willson School through the 11th grade. Instead of graduating, she chose to start her life with the love of her life Kenneth L. “Ken” Lewis, where she earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD in raising seven (7) children.

Anyone who knew our mother knew how important her family was to her. She made sure that each of us had plenty to eat and always had our own new school clothes to wear. In addition to her family, she was a surrogate mom to so many other children during her life. Whether it was running a day care out of our home, serving as a girl scout or cub scout den leaders, or later becoming a School Bus Driver and Noon Aide on the playground. She positively impacted so many children’s lives.

We routinely had a formal Sunday dinner. Besides holidays, it was the only time that we sat at the dining room table. You had to be bathed and dressed in your Sunday best, and we practiced the best young lady and gentlemen manners. Some of the best meals were at the end of the month, crepes for dinner were a highlight. Mom made as many crepes as you wanted, and we could add her homemade freezer jams - raspberry, peach and strawberry. We never knew as children that money was tight, and that you could feed 7 children cheap with a box of Bisquick.

Mom loved cooking for the holidays. She always had the biggest Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Later in life the holidays turned into a house of 50-60 people for dinner. She would make Christmas cookies for weeks prior to Christmas to have enough for everyone to take a couple of dozen home with them. By far the all-time favorite cookie was her Christmas wreath cookie. That cookie was not only enjoyed by each of us, but mom would sell them at bake sales to help raise money to buy Christmas gifts when we were young.

Whenever a new boyfriend or girlfriend came to a holiday gathering, it was the litmus test to see if they would make it. If you could survive coming into a room of at least 40 people and not run, then it was a good sign.

She was always crafting and to this day you better not throw out any of her old craft magazines because you never know when she might want a new idea to try. The house should have been built with the large dining and living room it has, and then the rest a craft room.

Prior to being a bus driver, she worked and managed several stores downtown Bozeman. As the manager of Hallmark store and before that as a window designer at the Diana Shop, they fit her crafting mentality and she excelled at them. Plus, there might have been some of her kids that would stop by to say hi at the store and might have been put to work bringing up boxes from the basement to help replenish the shelves.

Mom and dad had just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary when we lost our dad. She is survived by her seven children, Linda (Wayne) Klompien, Michele Manry, Michael (Dave) Lewis, Kurt (Lonnie) Lewis, Kenlynn (Mark) Erickson, Martin (Beth) Lewis, and Victoria (Chris) Gibson. They are blessed with 16 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren.

Our mom had a servant’s heart; she was active in the church and regularly attended the Saturday night mass at Holy Rosary. To say that she was active in the church is an understatement; before the Foresters started putting on funeral dinners as fund raisers, they were for hire for wedding receptions in the church basement. For most of that period Mom chaired the wedding reception committee. When the group moved to funeral dinners, Mom again chaired that group forever. When the church underwent major renovations and expandedthe basement, she served on a small committee who provided input to the architect on design of the kitchen, as she and her crew utilized the space more than anyone. At one point our dad proudly told us that the local organization wanted to nominate her for Forester of the Year on a National level; being so humble, she asked them not to nominate her.

We were blessed to celebrate our mother’s ninetieth (90) birthday on Labor Day. The memory of her beautiful smile enjoying so many of the family and friends is a fitting way to remember her. None of us would have had “who has my tiara and birthday sash” on our bingo card. Her final words were that she was being called home by Ken and was looking forward to seeing him.

A Vigil will be held at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service on Thursday September 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Rosary Parish on Friday, September 25, 2026, at 12:00 p.m., immediately followed by a Graveside Service at Sunset Hills Cemetery, followed by lunch at Holy Rosary Parish.