This year, SCAD President and Founder Paula S. Wallace inducted five new women into the Savannah Women of Vision, a program that celebrates key female figures whose ideas, leadership and service have shaped the community of Savannah. This weekly column will attempt to share a little more of the stories behind each of the fifteen women whose gold portraits hang on either side of the Arnold Hall Theater.
Nancy Nelson Lewis, born in 1927, has helped to support the health, art and public education communities of Savannah through numerous donations from herself and her husband, Julius Curtis “J.C.” Lewis Jr.
While J.C. served as Savannah’s mayor in 1966 to 1970, Nancy had her own ventures within the city. Primarily, she worked to benefit the quality of life of its inhabitants. Nancy worked to ensure secondary learning academies had funding to provide enriching education to its students, such as the J.C. and Nancy Lewis Christian Missions Endowment Fund at Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia. She also provided financial support for student scholarships in higher education, such as SCAD’s Nancy N. Lewis Scholarship.
Nancy believed in the importance of art and strove to keep the artistic community of Savannah thriving. She and her husband established Savannah Christian Preparatory School’s Nancy N. Lewis and J.C. Lewis Fine Arts Hall. They also donated a portion of the land for the Jepson Center for the Arts and the Telfair Museum. The J.C. and Nancy Lewis Gallery on the top floor of the Telfair honors the pair’s contribution.
Perhaps Nancy’s largest contribution to the city’s welfare has been her contribution to the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion at St. Joseph’s Candler. Her generosity created local, highly specialized cancer care, allowing community members to stay in the city while undergoing treatment. The presence of a facility with an excellence inpatient care has earned the city recognition for superior healthcare and a commitment to spiritual and social growth.
Elena Burnett is the Editor-in-Chief of District. She’s a writing major who will graduate in 2019.
