Joanne (Morrison) Lewis

Joanne Lewis (Morrison), known affectionately as “Joey” by friends and family, passed away at Riddle Hospital in Media, PA on August 8, 2025, because of complications from a heart attack.  She was 78 years old. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 52 years, John “Jack” Lewis and son Timothy Lewis, and survived by her daughter Jennifer Lewis and her husband Joseph Simms, son Daniel Lewis and son Patrick Lewis and his wife Bonnie Fentem Lewis.  Survivors also include her treasured grandchildren: Max Lewis, Lawton Lewis Simms, Theo Lewis Simms, Rose Lewis Simms, Wallace Lewis and Bernadette Lewis.  Also surviving are Joanne’s brothers John Morrison and Mark Morrison and sisters, Peggy Devine, Tricie Scottoline, Mary Gallagher, and Kathy Knoll.

Born December 23, 1946, Joanne grew up in Yeadon, PA as the oldest of seven children of parents John C Morrison, Jr. and Kathleen Stapleton Morrison.   Joanne attended St. Louis Parochial School and graduated from Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, class of 1964, with 1000 other girls.  Soon after graduation, Joanne embarked on her first adventure, attending nursing school at the University of Pennsylvania and became a registered nurse in 1967.

In the summer of 1969, while vacationing at the Jersey Shore with her high school friends, Joanne had a chance encounter with a man with a thick Boston accent who would become her husband and life-long companion for over 52 years.  From their first dance at the Bongo Room in Avalon, NJ, their romance and companionship would be the bedrock of both of their adult lives.  Joanne and Jack were married shortly thereafter in 1970 in Media, PA and thus begun over 50 years of family building, travelling and life adventure.  Joanne had her first child, Jennifer, in 1972, son Dan in 1975, and son Patrick in 1978.

Joanne and Jack’s life journey took them through 13 homes in 7 different cities. Each location living on in family lore by the street name backed by the magical way that Joanne created a sense of home and community in every place they lived.  In 1973, as Joanne was building her young family, she and Jack found themselves living in a quaint house on Letitia Lane in Media, PA.  There Joanne befriended her neighbors who also were building young families.  Although only there for a few years, the friends she made on that street are still her best friends to this day.

In 1978, Joanne and her growing family then began a series of moves and relocations around the US and abroad based on Jack’s employment with DuPont, moving her away from Delaware County for the first time at age 30.  Their family adventures took them first to Toledo, Ohio, where Joanne gave birth to her third child, Patrick, and worked as a nurse while lovingly helping her children adjust to an ever-changing landscape. 

After three years in Toledo, the family moved to Rochester Hills, MI.  While in Michigan, Joanne took a break from nursing and began considering other opportunities in the health services industry.  Realizing that her options were limited without a 4-year degree, Joanne demonstrated again that she was going to write her own narrative.   She had always dreamed of having a college degree, so at the age of 34, she began her journey for higher education at Detroit Mercy University. In 1985, she earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Health Services, where her husband and three children proudly watched as she accepted that diploma.

In 1988, Joanne and family had a unique opportunity through Jack’s job to live in Germany for 3 years.  The abundance of European holidays and the active sporting schedule of the children provided ample opportunities for Joanne and Jack to explore much of western Europe.  Joanne loved the quick trip on the train to Paris and interacting with the bi-lingual children at the American Pre-school where she was a teaching assistant.  All the while Joanne remained the ringmaster in creating a home away from home for the family ensuring that pizza Friday and other family traditions carried on, building memories for the family that are cherished.

Work relocation brought the family back to Michigan for eight years where Joanne reconnected with long-term dear friends and expanded her work experience to the Personal Home and Hospice Care industry. During this time, in 1998 Joanne and Jack were able to fulfill a lifelong dream of buying a house at the shore in Avalon, NJ, mere blocks from where they first met at the Bongo Room in 1970.  The shore house and its short walk to the beach was proclaimed by Joanne to be her “favorite place on earth.”  Over the past 27 years since acquiring the shore house, Joanne loved spending countless hours sitting on the beach with a book or just chatting with her friends and family.  She loved her daily morning trip to the Avalon Wawa for her coffee and the New York Times.  Joanne also loved playing with all of her grandchildren at the beach, helping them all become Beach Babies from a very young age, sharing her love for the beach and the sound of the ocean.  

With love for family gatherings, the shore house became a perfect place to host her large family, finding any reason to celebrate, whether birthday parties, graduations, wedding showers, baby showers, or holidays. While still moving for Jack’s job back to Germany 1999, Joanne ensured that bowls of jelly beans, potluck meals and endless chatting continued through the shore house continually creating a home away from home.

After moving back to the Philadelphia area for good in 2001, Joanne embraced her love of art and culture by becoming a museum guide at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Making her way through an intense 2 year training, Joanne parlayed her inherently kind aura and her abundant knowledge of the museum’s many art exhibits into an impressive post-retirement activity.  To no one’s surprise during her time at the museum Joanne made dear friends among the other guides that would continue to be a part of her life well after Joanne concluded her time there.

Anyone who ever entered Joanne’s orbit will feel her loss deeply.  She was a loving wife, a supportive mother, a kind sister, adoring grandmother and a thoughtful friend to all those she touched.  She will be sorely missed. The family is planning a celebration of Joanne’s life on September 20th, 2025, inquiries should be directed to Jennifer Lewis (jlewissimms@gmail.com). In lieu of flowers the family asks you consider giving a gift of reading with a donation to a library of your choice.