Lewis, Faye Cashatt (1896-1982)

LEWIS, CASHATT, CORWIN, MATTHEW

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 1/1/2015 at 15:15:45

Daily Freeman Journal, Friday, June 11, 1982

Dr. Faye C. Lewis dies; funeral to be Monday

Dr. Faye C. Lewis, 86, widely known author and former Webster City physician, died Thursday afternoon at Hamilton County hospital following a lengthy illness.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Foster Funeral home with Rev. Paul D. Williamson officiating and with burial in Graceland cemetery.

Faye Cashatt, daughter of Osa Tillman and Salome Corwin Cashatt, was born Jan. 30, 1896 at Dedham, Carroll county, Iowa. The family moved to South Dakota where they homesteaded, and she was reared and educated in South Dakota.

She attended the University of South Dakota at Vermillion, S.D., then attended the Washington University School of Medicine at St. Louis.

She was the first woman to receive a medical degree at Washington University in 1921. She served her internship and residency at Kalamazoo, Mich.

She was married July 15, 1923 at Dedham to Dr. William B. Lewis, and the couple made their home in Kamrar where they practiced until 1927 when they moved to Webster City.

She interrupted her practice at that time until her husband entered the service in 1942, then she resumed her medical practice here. After her husband returned from the service, they erected a new office building at 815 Des Moines St.

The Drs. Lewis continued their practice of medicine until they both retired in 1970, and they had resided since at 1500 Willson Ave.

She was preceded in death by her husband, March 14, 1982.

She is survived by one son and two daughters, Dr. Malcolm Lewis of Nashville, Tenn., Mrs. Elizabeth Matthew, Tampa, Fla., and Virginia Lewis, Webster City; seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers and two sisters.

She was a member of Asbury United Methodist church, and was active in the Business and Professional Women's club for many years. She was a member of the Hamilton County Hospital Medical Staff from 1942 until her retirement and was a member of the Travel club.

She was a longtime member of the Kendall Young Library board.

Dr. Lewis authored five books, the first being "Doc's Wife," written in 1940, which was widely circulated.

In 1968, she published "Patients, Doctors and Families," which was well received throughout a wide area. Telling of her girlhood in Oklahoma where her family had homesteaded, she wrote, "Nothing to Make a Shadow," a reference to the treeless plains of that state in its early years.

Other books included "A Doctor Looks at Heart Trouble," in 1970 and "All Out Against Arthritis," 1973.

During the war years, when her husband was in the service, she wrote a regular column for the Daily Freeman-Journal called "Purgatorials," often relaying some of her husband's pertinent observations from the Italian war front.

On May 24, Dr. Lewis was honored as "The Most Outstanding Business Woman in Webster City in 125 Years," an honor bestowed upon her by the Business and Professional Women's club in recognition of her outstanding services to the area. The announcement was in conjunction with the city's observance of its Quasquicentennial anniversary.