Felicia Louise Lewis

1929 - 2022

Felicia Louise (Stegeman) Lewis
July 1, 1929 - November 6, 2022
State College, Pennsylvania - Felicia L. Lewis, of State College, PA, died peacefully at Mount Nittany Medical Center on Sunday, November 6, 2022. She was 93 years old.
Born Felicia Louise Stegeman on July 1, 1929, in Detroit, MI, she was the daughter of the late Manley and Myrtle Fern (Caverne) Stegeman. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 66 years, Peirce F. Lewis, and her sister, Jean Stegeman Cowan. She is survived by her son, Hugh, and his wife, Joselyn; her three grandchildren, Gillian, Isla, and Roen; and her cherished nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Felicia grew up in Detroit, MI and earned her B.A. from Albion College in 1950 where she was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority and Mortar Board Honor Society. Following graduation, she taught in the Detroit and Wayne, MI public schools. In 1952, she married Peirce and together they lived in Ann Arbor, MI, Tokyo, Japan, and Seattle, WA before moving to State College, PA when Peirce joined the Penn State University geography faculty in 1958.
Felicia was an incredibly engaged and dedicated member of the State College community for over six decades as it changed and grew. She cared immensely about her community and worked passionately to help it thrive. She served as a Prison Visitor and leader of the PA Prison Society in Centre County for over 32 years, organizing innovative programs and partnerships with the Centre County Prison to advocate and work for expansion of county services for incarcerated people.
Felicia's thoughtful insights made her a sought-after member of other community organizations including the Centre County Historical Society. She served as a member of the Board of Governors for over a decade.
Felicia was an active member of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) where she supported programming to encourage and enable women to participate in municipal government and, as Felicia would note, she did this "before it was customary to do so." She, herself, held local public office-on State College Borough Council from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1991 to 1995-and as a member of the Design Review Board. Felicia navigated challenging issues and decisions with calm, intelligence, and the ability to listen to all sides. These strengths made her an invaluable team member in all of her roles. In 2004, Felicia and Peirce received the first jointly-awarded Borough Legacy Award for outstanding contributions to the quality of community life.
She was the first woman to serve as State College mayor when she was appointed as interim mayor in fall 2009. Following this appointment, she was honored, in 2011, with National Kappa Delta's Order of the Pearl award as recognition of her longstanding contributions through professional and volunteer work for the State College area.
Felicia was an avid reader, was always in the middle of a book or two-usually a mystery-and shared that love of reading with her grandchildren. She was an advocate for libraries, serving over fifteen years as a volunteer and member of the Board of Trustees at Schlow Centre Region Library. In that role she was instrumental in encouraging community financial support for the new library building, which greatly enhances the services the library is able to provide.
Felicia was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend and will be deeply missed. Felicia will be remembered by family and friends for her passion for local issues and advocacy, fondness for a good meal with people she loved, amazing cooking, sharp mind, and strong, but gentle wisdom.
Services will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to Schlow Centre Region Library at 211 S. Allen Street, State College, PA, 16801 or online at https://www.schlowlibrary.org/donate/honor-memorial-gifts.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Haky/Georgiana Centre County Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences may be shared at https://www.hakygeorgianafh.com/obits.