Mary Powell Lewis, MD

Mary Powell, MD, also known as Mary P. Lewis, of Newtown Square, PA, age 98, passed away July 15, 2024. She was born January 26, 1926 in Fredericksburg, VA to Samuel Peter and Dorothy McCormick Powell, both attorneys. She attended local schools, graduating from Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington), and then from the University of Tennessee Medical School in 1949. She had an internship in Baltimore and residencies in the Medical College of VA, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Hahnemann Hospital (now Drexel University College of Medicine). She was board certified in Orthopedic Surgery in 1963, being the 13th woman in the U.S. to do so. 

She married the late Dr. Stuart Hayes Lewis, also an Orthopedic Surgeon, in 1954; he predeceased her in 2007. Their honeymoon consisted of a 9-month long, low-budget trip through Mexico, Central and South America, ending in London for 2 years where each pursued further medical studies. Returning to the U.S., Dr. Powell started practicing Orthopedics in Abington and Bryn Mawr, and worked mostly in the Main Line area and at Bryn Mawr Hospital. She was a caring and dedicated physician whose expertise and compassion had a lasting impact on those she treated. 

She was a member of The American Medical Association, the PA Orthopaedic Society, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Philadelphia Club of Medical Women. She enjoyed nature, and was the physician on several trail rides in the American West. After retirement, she continued her occupation as a tree farmer in VA. She had been part of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA since 1959. 

She is survived by 4 daughters: Dorothy (Dee) Lewis (Clem Cottingham) of Lawrenceville, NJ; Caroline Bradley (Ricky Laney) of Spotsylvania. VA; Margaret (Megan) Lewis and Judith Lewis, both of Philadelphia, PA. Also, by 4 grandchildren: Tiffany Blue of Nampa, ID; Caitlin Bradley and Fionnuala Bradley (Will Guthrie) of Richmond, VA, and by Samuel Cook of Philadelphia, PA, as well as by 8 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren. She appreciated her caregivers and friends, including Sharon Suber, Wendy Morgan, Georgia Robinson, and Doug Potenza.

Interment will be at the family plot in Oak Hill Cemetery Fredericksburg, VA on Friday, July 26th at 12 pm. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA on August 24, 2024 at 11 am. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America 505 Eighth Ave Suite 1402 New York, NY 10018 https://hdsa.org/, to the National Alliance on Mental Illness 4301 Wilson Blvd Suite 300 Arlington, VA 22203 https://www.nami.org/, or to the Stuart H. Lewis Memorial Fund at St. Mary’s.