Constance Tatum Lewis

LEWIS, Constance Tatum, 59, Atlanta native, long-time Stone Mountain resident, and resident of Loganville since 1995, lost her long battle with cancer on October 26, 2009.  When first diagnosed with cancer, Connie said, "I started to ask ‘Why me?’ and then I realized the real question was ‘Why not me?’ I'm not so special that I should be immune to the vagaries of fate."  But she was wrong; she was that special--to her neighbors from Gail Drive, where she grew up in an idyllic setting, and where her father still lives; to her classmates from Cross Keys High School, where she is remembered as a brilliant scholar; to her many, many friends from the University of Georgia, where she received a degree in Journalism, a Phi Beta Kappa Key, a Phi Kappa Phi Award, and her husband of thirty nine years, Norman C. Lewis, Jr.; to Norman, who knows that she dragged him, sometimes kicking and screaming, into being the best man he could be; to her sons, Scott and Kevin Lewis, to whom she was the mom all their friends envied them having, who welcomed all their friends as if they were her own kids, and who grew up to be the fine young men, husbands and fathers of whom she was so proud; to her daughters-in-law, Donna and Lisa, who learned that the critical, meddling mother-in-law is a myth; to her beloved grandsons, Jacob Lewis and Phillip Lewis, who named her "Guy," and to whom they could do no wrong (Well, almost no wrong); to her father, Robley H. Tatum, who taught her, along with her late mother, Irene, to be a strong, confident woman, and that sometimes your kids can be smarter than you, especially when it comes to picking a life-long soul mate; to her older sister, Pat Miller, who helped her fight her earliest battles and her last battle, and who learned that a little bitty girl could have shoulders large enough to help her shoulder any burden; to her younger sister, Jerri Tatum, to whom she was always a mentor, hero and friend, and the best football-watching buddy ever; to her nephews, Kirk Miller and Joe Kimbell, who thought she was the smartest woman in the world (they were right); to her many cousins and assorted family members, who learned that Connie could make a family reunion that was to be looked forward to, not dreaded; to most especially her cousin, Kathy Hatfield, the best personal medical staff you could ever hope to have; to the fellow members back at the Rockbridge Elementary School PTA, who learned that to give a task to Connie was to be assured it would be done not just on time, but well; to the ALTA girls ten and under, whom she coordinated for many years; to the slightly older ALTA players, who were her beloved teammates and friends; to the viewers of Channel 30 Public TV, who if they've ever wondered over the years who all these selfless volunteers were, now know one of them; to the volunteers at the A T & T/ BellSouth Golf Tournament, where she marshaled the marshals on the back nine; to the volunteers who worked on the Peach Bowl/Chick-fil-A Bowl with Connie and Norman for 25 years; to the volunteers who worked with Connie and Norman at the SEC football and basketball championships at the Georgia Dome, where she learned that even a rabid Georgia fan could become friends with Steve Spurrier; to her friends and pallbearers, who will be doing her this one last favor: Florence Baria, Camille Hamilton, Chesnee Knotts, Kris Recicar, Patricia Paulk, and Barbara Lascody, who will prove that women can do anything the guys can do; to her honorary pallbearers, Dan Cassidy and Steve Black, who will prove that a man can do it, too; and to the many others, too numerous to name, that were touched by Connie's brains and spirit, her loyalty, and her combativeness. We will miss our wife, our mother, our grandmother, our daughter, our sister, our teammate. But we will all miss our friend.  Visitation will be at A.S. Turner & Sons, 2773 N. Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA from 5 to 8 pm on Wednesday, October 28.  Funeral service will be at Stone Mountain First United Methodist Church, 5312 West Mountain Street, Stone Mountain, the Rev Joy Brown presiding, on Thursday at 1 pm, with interment to follow at the Oxford Historical Cemetery, Oxford, GA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, 1687 Tullie Circle NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.  Condolences may be left online at www.asturner.com.