OBITUARY FROM FISHER FUNERAL CHAPEL (LAFAYETTE, IN) WEBSITE:
Dorothy Irene (Rastovski) Lewis (89) of Lafayette passed away Saturday morning, March 25 at IU/Arnett Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana. Dorothy was born in Gary, Indiana on September 26, 1933. She graduated from Merrillville High School with the class of 1951 and married J. Clifford Lewis, Jr. on July 12, 1958.
Dorothy was passionate about two things: teaching children and her family. Nothing else came close. After her two children were through elementary school, Dorothy got a B.S. in Education in 1972 from Purdue NW and went on to earn a master’s degree from Valparaiso University in Early Education. Soon after, she started teaching first grade at Foreman Elementary School in Hobart, Indiana and taught there until her retirement twenty-five years later. Dorothy was the first teacher and the first woman to introduce computers into first grade classrooms in Indiana, and even gave a presentation at the statehouse in Indianapolis with one of her colleagues on the benefits of using computers in the classroom. It was an uphill battle at that time, but she fought hard and eventually computers in the classroom became the norm. She loved the kids she taught, and parents made sure their kids were in her class. Parents and students alike responded to her dedicated attention to each student with care-even love, and through this, Dorothy won the respect of her colleagues.
Dorothy’s other passion was her family. She loved her husband, two children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren deeply and would do anything to help and protect them. She was fierce in this respect. Dorothy will be deeply missed by all, and the world is a little less bright now she has passed on. She was also a religious woman, and her faith played an important role in her life.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Michael Rastovski and Mary (Williams) Rastovski, both of Merrillville, Indiana, as well as her sister Catherine Jones, who died just two months prior in Bremen, Indiana.
She is survived by her husband, Jesse Clifford Lewis, Jr. (Cliff) of Lafayette, IN; sons Jeffrey Clifford Lewis (wife Kandi and grandsons Joshua and Christian Lewis) in Chandler, AZ; and Michael Joseph Lewis (partner Denise Wilson - both of Lafayette, IN) and Denise’s children Chance Heasty (Lafayette, IN) and Emma Mock (Sheboygan, WI). Also surviving are Dorothy’s brother, Thomas (Lynne) Rastovski of Demotte, Indiana, and sister Patricia (Ray) Laiche of Michigan.
No services will be held. After cremation, a small private burial will take place at Meadow View Cemetery.
This information and picture were obtained from: https://www.fisherfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Dorothy-I-Lewis?obId=27583275.