A long-time educator and community leader will be greatly missed in Greenville, said friends and former co-workers of Annie Lou Dailey Lewis.

Mrs. Lewis passed away last Saturday, August 6.

Funeral services were held yesterday, August 11, at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville.

Mrs. Lewis was a long-time educator who served in Henry, Barbour, and Butler counties for nearly 40 years.

She and her husband James, a retired educator himself, were great role models and mentors for aspiring teachers, friends said.

&#8220My life was certainly better because Annie Lou Lewis passed my way,” City Council Member Jeddo Bell, who serves on the city council with Mr. Lewis, said.

&#8220When I started in teaching back in 1963, both Mr. and Mrs. Lewis became my mentors. They took me in and taught me what I needed to know as an educator. They did this not just for me, but for many, many other new teachers in the county.”

Mrs. Lewis was active in a number of local organizations, among them the Order of the Eastern Star, Aberilla Chapter, The Greenville-Butler County Public Library Board, the Retired Teachers Association and the Butler County Civic League.

Bell recalls a woman who was an excellent organizer for community programs and projects.

&#8220She did things the right way, the precise way; she was that sort of person. She was a very fair, kind person, too.”

Sue Arnold, city clerk and director of the Miss Greater Greenville Scholarship Program, said both Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had been enthusiastic supporters of the Miss GG program.

&#8220They both always attended our programs each year and were very supportive of Miss GG and so complimentary of our programs. We will certainly miss seeing her in the audience.”

Burke McFerrin, librarian at the Greenville-Butler County Public Library, said, &#8220Annie Lewis has been on the library's board of trustees for as long as I have been here. She was a very active and supportive board member.”

McFerrin said having an experienced fellow librarian like Mrs. Lewis on the board had been a real plus.

&#8220She was a great asset to the board and a very sweet, kind lady. We will all miss her in many ways.”