Carol Sue Lewis

    Carol Sue (Patterson) Lewis died Tuesday, January 26, in Lubbock, Texas, from complications caused by COVID-19.
    Carol was born September 22, 1943, in Snyder, Texas, to Homer and Jessie B Patterson of Fluvanna. Carol’s father died when she was 2 years old, and she was raised by Jessie B and O.D. Jackson of Gail.
    Before the days of kindergarten, Carol started school in Gail at 5 years old. Carol’s mother was county clerk at the time, and it was widely reported that Carol was put in school a year early to reduce her pestering county courthouse employees. She later skipped 2nd grade, graduating high school at 16. 
    She received her associate’s degree in science from Lubbock Christian College in 1962 and completed her bachelor’s degree in secondary education at West Texas State University in 1964.
    Carol married Royale, her college sweetheart, at Gail Church of Christ on June 22, 1962. 
    After college, she taught at Crockett Junior High in Amarillo for two years, until Royale joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1966. The couple moved to Quantico, Va., for him to attend Officer Candidates School. Royale was deployed to Vietnam shortly thereafter, and Carol moved to Seminole, where she taught during the 1967-68 school year.
    After an honorable discharge from the Marines, Royale and Carol moved to Fluvanna, where he began farming, and she began her second career as a homemaker and mother to daughter Shelly. The couple moved to Snyder when Royale became a Scurry County sheriff’s deputy, and Carol had their second and third children, Amy and Shawn. Carol continued her work as a homemaker, and they moved to their family farm and ranch in Fluvanna in 1974.
    In 1983, Carol continued her career in education, becoming a math teacher for Borden County Independent School District. She later became high school and junior high English teacher until her retirement in 2002. She rarely missed an opportunity to correct someone’s grammar, both in and out of the classroom. Former students routinely posted grammar memes on her Facebook page.
    Carol was a member of Eastside Church of Christ in Snyder from 1970 until 1989 where she taught Sunday School class. When the family moved from Fluvanna to Gail in 1989, she continued to teach Sunday school at Gail Church of Christ. 
    In 2005, she was elected to the Borden County ISD Board of Trustees, on which she served until her death. In recent years, she also had served on the Borden County Historic Preservation Commission.
    Since her passing, many Borden County residents and school alumni have referred to Carol as a legend of Borden County. 
    She was a one-woman welcome wagon, taking baked goods to new residents of Gail. In the absence of a grocery store, she was the community pantry. Everyone knew they could count on Carol to have an obscure spice or ingredient when they were in a pinch and 30 minutes away from the nearest grocery store.
    She spoke truth to power, and anyone else for that matter. Once while at a convention in Austin, she ran into Governor Ann Richards in the hallway, shook her hand and proceeded to tell the governor that her plan for school finance reform was terrible for rural West Texas.
    Carol was a talented seamstress, making her daughters’ clothing throughout their childhood, culminating in her eldest daughter’s white velvet wedding gown in 1993. In addition to making a plethora of curtains for her son’s house flipping projects on her beloved Bernina sewing machine, she also crocheted and embroidered washcloths, towels, baby books and other gifts until her death. 
    She was also adept at canning, providing friends and family with a steady supply of her famous sweet pickles, black eyed peas and homemade jams. 
    Every year at Christmas, Carol baked and delivered cinnamon rolls to friends and family in the Gail, Fluvanna and Snyder areas for 30 years, and for those who were extra special received a tea ring – a gigantic cinnamon pastry that could feed an army.
    But her true passion was her love of Borden County student athletics and forensics. As a student, teacher, parent and school board member for Borden County ISD over 40 years, it’s unlikely that anyone attended and supported more Borden County school functions than Carol.  
    She was survived by her husband of 58 years, Royale D. Lewis, and their three children: Shelly Bolton of Kerrville, her husband, Scott, and their four children, Jessie B, Kalyn Mae, Andrew and Maribelle; Amy Martin of Kennedale, her husband, Chad, and their three children, Kelsey, Quincy and Eli; and Shawn Lewis of Englewood, Colo. Royale died January 30, also from complications caused by COVID-19.
    To ensure the safety of others, the family has decided to delay a celebration of Carol’s life until it is safe to do so. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to some of Carol’s favorite charities:
    -Arms of Hope, armsofhope.org
    -Churches of Christ Disaster Relief, disasterreliefeffort.org/
    -Children’s Home of Lubbock, childshome.org
– Press-Reporter obituary services