I first met Stephanie Lewis in 1968 at Grinnell college, in the middle of Iowa. I had seen her on-stage during Grinnell theatre productions, and my first vivid memory of Stephanie was in the play by Arthur Miller, AFTER THE FALL. Stephanie played a Marilyn Monroe-like character, and with her back to the audience, she lowered a bathrobe and said, "Come on in, the water's fine." INDEED!

We were introduced through Stephanie's roommates, Beth Voorhees Walter and Anne (Williams) Winterson; and my roommate, John Winterson.

When Steph graduated from Grinnell, she did post-graduate work in Theatre at the University of Iowa, sixty miles away in Iowa City. I was still at Grinnell, completing my required courses for medical school. However, I will admit that I spent far more time with Stephanie in Iowa City, than I did in class at Grinnell.

Stephanie started work at Milwaukee Repertory theatre as an Apprentice in 1970, while I started medical school in Chicago. I spent every weekend in Milwaukee, watching her act and hanging out with the theatre crowd. It was here that she learned to juggle, and all the rest of us have since learned through her.

In 1971, Steph started work with the Chicago Free Street Theatre, and we moved into a cheap, walk-up apartment on the near north side of Chicago, dubbed the "roach ranch". The large, black model's portfolio of beautiful photographs was from those years.

We moved to Syracuse, New York where I completed my Residency in Family Medicine from 1974-77 and Stephanie developed many of her cooking and party skills in that close community of residents and spouses.

Our oldest son, Gabe was born on New Year's Eve in Syracuse in 1976.

We moved to Ft. Defiance, Arizona in 1977, and Steph spent those early years caring for Gabe, rescuing stray cats, perfecting her culinary and hosting skills, co-founding the Red Rock Film Society, helping develop a food cooperative, and learning to tell jokes in Navajo.

Around 1982, she attended the University of New Mexico, where she obtained a teaching certificate.

In 1983, our youngest son, Jay was born. I remember Stephanie walking the two blocks from our home in Ft. Defiance, through the old BIA park, and on to the hospital, pausing every few minutes along the way for the next contraction.

She later worked for the Window Rock Unified School District as a substitute teacher; followed by a long stint as the school district Home-bound teacher.

As the Home-bound teacher, she served as a liaison between the teachers, and various students unable to attend school due to medical and other reasons. It was in this capacity that she spent large amounts of time visiting the homes of her Navajo and other students, meeting multiple generations of their families, and perfecting her Navajo accent.

Through the years, Stephanie became an accomplished outdoorswoman. She backpacked to Rainbow Bridge and deep into the Grand Canyon and many other southwestern canyons. She learned to climb rock and to rappel. She became a good skier, and then switched to snowboarding. Stephanie could carve a turn with the best of boarders. Stephanie mastered all aspects of rafting, and she always said rafting (along with basking on Caribbean beaches) was her favorite activity.

During this time, she continued to be extremely active in the communities of Ft. Defiance, Window Rock, and Gallup, New Mexico. She acted and directed for Dineh Little Theatre in Window Rock, Arizona. She volunteered as an adult leader for Nat'aani Trails, a wilderness therapy program targeted at adolescents. She also volunteered for Reach for Life, a suicide hotline.

In 1996, Stephanie received a Master of Arts graduate degree in Counseling from Western New Mexico University. She then set up a private counseling practice in Gallup, providing comfort and care to many residents of the larger Gallup area. By November, 2005, Stephanie achieved the highest level of counseling certification.

Movies and music were always part of Stephanie's life. She had a beautiful voice, but always said she wanted to be a back-up singer. She was a skilled dancer, having studied ballet and modern dance. She was an accomplished actor, with great gifts of impersonation, accents, and dialogue.

She and I shared a love of movies, and we attended the Telluride Film Festival every year since 1985.

Her musical tastes were wide-ranging, but always tended toward hard rock and heavy metal. She knew the hottest musical groups from each and every era.

Stephanie's dinner and dance party skills are legendary, and I hope many of you have a pleasant taste and memory of a gourmet dinner cooked by her.

Stephanie would have wanted you to know a few things about herself.

She was proud of her diverse background, which included a significant African-American heritage, some Cherokee, and a Scotsman.

She was proud that her family moved to one of the earliest purposely integrated communities in the United States, (Concord Park in Northeast Philadelphia) in the early 1950's.

She was proud that her father served at Tuskegee Airbase during WW2.

She was proud that her uncle, Emlen Tunnell, is in the professional football Hall of Fame.

Stephanie would have wanted you to know that she was snowboarding in Telluride as recently as January 2, 2007.

I know Stephanie touched many lives in a very significant way.

I know also that these words only scratch the surface of who she was.

As a matter of fact, after a while, words fail.

Stephanie's mother worked for the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) all her life. Gabe, Jay, and Armelle all attended the same Quaker high school, George School, near her parent's home in Philadelphia.

Besides pacifism, the Friends always share a moment of silence. At the conclusion of the memorial, we will share a moment of silence in memory of Stephanie. As you read this and remember Stephanie, please also share a peaceful moment with us.