Polly as a child
Polly Katherine Lewis passed on March 8, 2025 from COPD complications after a two decade
long struggle. Polly was born May 22, 1947 in Vallejo, CA. Her father was Thomas Arnold Cox (1920-1982) of Tignall, GA and mother was Martha Alice Cluver (1921-1986) of Petaluma, CA.
She was the oldest of five siblings, Linda L. Herr-Akins of Salem, Katie A. Morris of Napa, Pat E. Honsvick, (d.2024) and Nancy S. Raby of Petaluma. A fifth sibling, Susan, died as a child.
Polly (standing) and Sisters, probably Napa CA.
In her youth, Polly’s family frequently moved due to her father, Thomas, being a master boilermaker in the Navy. Vallejo was the town where they lived for many years while Thomas worked at the Mare Island naval station as an engineer.
Thomas Cox
Later they settled on an eleven-acre farm near Napa, CA. Polly had many relatives in Petaluma CA, she being a descendant of the Douglas, Evans, Tupper, Bostrom, and Cluver families of the town.
Likely at the I Street Extension house, Petaluma- Now Deer Creek Drive.
Polly and Gary Wayne Lewis (1943-2011) of Sheridan were married in Concord, CA, and with
Gary in the Army, they lived in Heidelberg, Germany, Livorno, Italy, and New Jersey. They had
two children, David Gene Lewis (1965-) and Patricia Anne Schmitt (1969-). In 1972, after the military
they settled in Salem, OR where Polly lived the rest of her life.
Patti, Gary, David, and Polly, Salem, Oregon.
She has seven grandchildren, Katie L. Schmitt, Thomas M. Schmitt, Saghaley W. Lewis, Inatye D. Lewis, Michael J. Becka, Laura M. Carroll,and Jamie D. Oakes, and seven great grandchildren. She attended Chemeketa Community College, Willamette University, and received a Masters degree in Counseling from Western Oregon University.
Polly In Livorno, Italy.
Polly worked in and around the Salem area finishing her career at the Grand Ronde Tribe as a mental health therapist. During her life Polly owned The Yarn Place, a shop in West Salem, did therapy under the business name Tranquility Inc., and sold books online for some 20 years. Polly was a voracious lifetime reader, worked with wool textiles spinning and creating her own sweaters. She experimented with organic foods and dyes for her yarns for years. She loved her home flower garden created with her long-term companion Bill Dukes. She loved and was extremely proud of her children and grandchildren whom loved her very much. She is missed by everyone in her family
Polly in Lincoln City, OR