Gail A. Lewis

OCEAN PARK – Gail A. Lewis, age 68, of Ocean Park; Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; and formally of Auburn, Mass., passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 after battling esophageal and brain cancer.

Gail was born in New Castle, Pa. and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. She was the daughter of the late David Arnold Lewis and Anna “Nancy” Louise Berg .

Gail is survived by her loving husband of 33 years, Michael “Mick” A. Godkin; her daughter, Erin M. Fuller; and two grandsons, Aidan and Colin Leurdijk, from Arlington, Va.; and five siblings, David Lewis of Perkasie, Pa., Deborah Lewis Conyers of Roswell, Ga., Daniel Lewis of Carollton, Ga., Douglas Lewis of Roxbury, Conn. and Christine Lewis Lakso of Norcross, Ga.

After graduating North Hills High School, Gail attended Baldwin Wallace College, Ohio and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Worcester State University, as a young mom. Gail had an amazing career that focused on community health and social justice, including serving as a special education teacher in the Auburn school system. She was the Executive Director of Central Mass AHEC in Worcester, a regional health education center, and was the brainchild behind the launch of an interpreter services program to allow better health care access for immigrants and refugees.

Gail was a loving mom to her daughter, Erin, and so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She showed Erin that each life has stages, with endings and beginnings to celebrate. She loved and treasured her grandchildren, spending time with them in Ocean Park and having “great conversations”.

One of Gail’s greatest joys was the beautiful love she shared with Mick. She loved to be in Ocean Park with him, sitting on the beach and listening to music and dancing on the porch. They shared many enjoyable trips to Central America, Cuba, Portugal and beyond. She loved all her close friends from the U.S. and Canada who found her brilliant, feisty, funny and kind. She was a consummate reader and completed the New York Times crossword puzzle every day in ink.

Gail was a lifelong volunteer, from leading Campfire Girl troops as a young mother, to volunteering at the local library in retirement.

The family will have a private memorial service to honor Gail’s life.

Online condolence messages can be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service website, www.mainefuneral.com.

Contributions can be made to the African Community Education program in Worcester, Mass. (https://acechildren.org)

or the Hospice of Southern Maine in Scarborough (www.hospiceofsouthern maine.org) for the extraordinary care and comfort the caregivers provided.