Dawn Marie Lewis, 82, of Manassas, Virginia, passed away peacefully on March 29th, 2025. Dawn was born November 17th, 1942, in Elmira New York to John (Jack) Minch and Lillian Christastie. She was raised in Elmira as well as Scranton, PA and Morristown, NJ as the oldest of three daughters. From an early age, she knew that she wanted to be a nurse and a nun. Dawn graduated from Notre Dame High School in Elmira in 1961. After high school, she joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Rochester, New York and took the name Sister Basil. Dawn has always been highly independent and decisive. Although her local order was primarily focused on teaching and education, Dawn decided instead to go into nursing and attended the Saint Joseph’s School of Nursing. She became a registered nurse in 1967 and did missionary work in Selma, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement, doing public health and administering vaccines in African American communities. In 1970, she left the convent and finished her bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland, which she graduated from in 1971. She went on for her master’s degree in nursing at Catholic University and graduated in 1973. Afterward, she worked as a school nurse and also for the Maryland Department of Health in community clinics in impoverished communities.

In Gaithersburg, Maryland, Dawn met Edward Lewis and they married August 23rd, 1975. They went on their honeymoon in Ocracroke, North Carolina. In 1978, Dawn and Ed welcomed their daughter, Elisa Marie Lewis. Three months later they moved to Manassas, Virginia, for Ed’s career, where they remained for the rest of their lives. Dawn taught nursing at Osborn Park High School, and later, biology at Garfield High School. She went to Uganda on a research expedition in 1993 and came back with stories of lions, hippos, and new friends. In 2000, she received a master’s degree in library science from the University of Tennessee through their distance learning program. She then became a librarian at Garfield High School until she retired in 2012.

Dawn remained very active and engaged in retirement. She continued to travel and went to places like Italy, Croatia, and Iceland. Dawn was a life-long learner and continued to take classes throughout her life. She particularly loved nature and science. She was a Master Gardner and her daughter’s family could always count on her knowledge to help them with gardening. Dawn was also politically engaged and attended the Atlantic Festival multiple years. She loved attending the opera, musicals, and cultural events with friends and family.

Dawn was widely loved. She was always surrounded by family and friends, old and new. In 2010 and 2015, Dawn and Ed welcomed their two grandchildren, Lilly and James Arndt. She was a loving and generous “Mema,” as her grandchildren called her. She and Ed enjoyed several trips to Europe with friends. She frequently hosted friends and relatives and made her home as welcoming as possible.

In 2016, her beloved husband Ed passed away. Dawn is survived by her daughter Elisa Marie Lewis, her grandchildren, Lilly and James Arndt, her niece, Kristin Collins and her three children, and her nephew, Robert Hotaling, and his son. No words can fully express how much she will be missed. 

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