Toni Leonardo Lewis

Lewis, Toni Leonardo
Toni Leonardo Lewis died Sunday, March 6, 2011, at Medical Center of Lewisville. She was born in Washington D.C. on December 11, 1947, to Earl and Mickey Leonardo. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, until the family moved to Richardson, then Dallas in 1963. She was a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas. In 1965 she began attending East Texas State University in Commerce, where she met her future husband, Gene Lewis. The two of them were married on August 23, 1968, in Phoenix, returning to Commerce so Toni could complete her Bachelor of Arts Degree. They soon moved to Greenville, Texas, where they lived until 1971 when they moved to Lewisville. She worked part-time at the Lewisville Leader newspaper but later began volunteering at the Degan Elementary School Library. She joined the Degan staff in 1983 as a Library Aid, and was promoted to Librarian in 1989, when she received her Master of Library Science Degree from Texas Women's University. In 1993 she transferred to The Colony High School Library as Assistant Librarian, remaining there until she retired in 2009. She was a member of the Texas Library Association and other library and education associations. Toni enjoyed traveling with her husband throughout North America and Europe. Toni is survived by Gene, her husband of 42 years; their two daughters, Jennifer Olufsen of Harker Heights, Natalie Lewis-Wille and her husband Ed Wille of Killeen; three grandsons, Caleb and William Olufsen and Brandon Wille; a sister, Patricia McEachern and her husband Will of Phoenix, and several aunts and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents. A visitation with the family will be held from 7-9 P.M. Tuesday, March 8, 2011; a funeral service will be held, 2:00 P.M., Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at Mulkey-Mason Chapel, in Lewisville. Interment will follow at Old Hall Cemetery in Lewisville. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.