NATCHITOCHES – Alumnae and current members of Iota Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated have created the Edwina M. Lewis Future Educator Award to honor a woman who has positively impacted her community for decades as an educator and mentor. Iota Mu surprised Lewis by announcing a donation of over $14,000 to the NSU Foundation to establish the endowed scholarship, which will be presented to a sophomore or junior majoring in education with preference for a member of the sorority. Lewis was the founding advisor for the Iota Mu Chapter when it was chartered at NSU in 1972, serving as advisor for 25 years. Friends can contribute to the scholarship by visiting https://northwesternstatealumni.com/lewis-award/.
Lewis is a Natchitoches native who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education at Grambling in 1957 and returned to Natchitoches to dedicate herself to her family and community. NSU became a big part of both. She earned a Master of Arts in education at NSU in 1967. During her long career, she taught middle school math for 10 years and was a supervising teacher for the NSU Middle Lab School for 21 years. She was an adjunct instructor for NSU’s College of Education for 10 years and named Louisiana State Middle School Teacher of the Year in 1987. She also worked in several parish schools as a test preparation tutor for state standardized testing programs.
Lewis is a lifetime member of the Grambling Alumni Association and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and is also a founding member of its Natchitoches Alumnae Chapter.
On hand during the presentation were past and current members of NSU’s Iota Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, her son, Kevin M. Lewis, Sr. and his wife, Rene Crosby Lewis; daughter, Denise Lewis Patrick; grandson Kristopher M. Lewis, his wife, Zacchea, and their son Kristopher Jr. Both Denise and Rene were initiated through Iota Mu Chapter at NSU.
Lewis is a member of the Natchitoches Parish Retired Educators’ Association, Phi Delta Kappa Professional Education Fraternity and the Natchitoches Voters and Civic League. She served on the Natchitoches Parish Library Board of Trustees for 24 years and on the Board of Directors for Natchitoches Technical College for 20 years. She is a former member of the Natchitoches Parish Literacy Council and a former host parent for Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.
Lewis has been recognized with many honors over the years. She was Natchitoches Business and Professional Women’s Woman of the year in 1997. In 2016, she was inducted into NSU’s Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development’s Hall of Distinguished Educators. In 2018, she was named a Natchitoches Treasure.
Lewis was married for 56 years to the late G. Stanley Lewis. She is also a member of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church where she was involved with the Ladies Altar Society and served as a Eucharistic minister and lector.
