Mrs. Mazie Virginia Lewis, 86, of Sarcoxie, Missouri departed this life on Sunday, October 21, 2012 at St. Luke's Care Center in Carthage, Missouri after a recent decline in health. Mazie entered this life on March 15, 1926 in Monett, Missouri the only child born to the late Claude Everett and Ethel Virginia (Hensly) Roderick. She was raised in Monett, Missouri and was a 1943 graduate of Monett High School. On July 22, 1944 in La Junta, Colorado she was united in marriage to a young serviceman from Sarcoxie, William Clifford Lewis after a four year courtship, and to this union one son was born. After WW-II they resided in Sarcoxie, Missouri until moving to Carthage, Missouri in 1952, later returning to Sarcoxie in 1977. She was a member of the Sarcoxie United Methodist Church and the PEO A.P Chapter. Mazie was a kind, gracious lady with a gentle spirit and an ever present smile. She was truly loved by all who knew her. Her quiet courage carried her through the most difficult times. She never sought attention for herself but was always concerned for the welfare of others. She enjoyed playing Bridge and was a voracious reader. She and Clifford were active in the early stages of the Sarcoxie Library which she & Clifford had helped convert from the "Red Front" mercantile store. At one time during their courtship, she thought Clifford had lost interest when he stopped coming to the family home to see her. She found that he had gone to Kansas City to take dance lessons because he could not dance and she loved to dance. At first, their courtship was limited to going to the Monett Methodist church with she and her family or going to her family home to sit in the living room or front porch with she, her family and other Monett boys. They traveled to Pueblo Colorado every year to visit close friends who had been in their wedding party. Mazie was a kind, gracious lady with a gentle spirit and an ever present smile. She was truly loved by all who knew her. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of fifty-three years, William Clifford Lewis on December 23, 1997. Mazie is survived by her son, Cdr. John Lewis, USNR (ret.) of Sarcoxie, Missouri; as well as a host of other family and lifelong friends. Funeral services for Mrs. Lewis are 10:00 a.m. Friday, October 26, 2012 in the chapel of Housh-Goodwin Funeral Home in Sarcoxie, Missouri. Burial will follow in the I.O.O.F Cemetery in Monett, Missouri. Those honoring her life by serving as pallbearers are Steve Lewis, Bill Lewis, Rod Lewis, Nick Petelski, Troy Lewis and Todd Petelski. The family will receive friends on Thursday evening from 6-7:00 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. On-line condolences may be sent to the family through our website www.housh-goodwinfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers memorials are being directed to the Mazie V. Lewis and the William C. Lewis Sarcoxie Schools Foundation Scholarship Funds and contributions may be left at the funeral home. Arrangements are under the personal care and direction of the Housh-Goodwin Funeral Home in Sarcoxie, Missouri.