NATCHEZ — Theresa Lewis expected the children and adults around her to give better than their best all the time, and she wasn’t afraid to offer a forceful nudge in that direction when needed.

An educator for 34 years and administrator in the Natchez-Adams School District for 22 years, Lewis influenced more lives than her friends say could be counted.

“She was always fair and persistent, and she always encouraged honesty,” said Evelyn Smith, who worked with Lewis as an educator. “She became a mentor to me, and she taught me that whatever I attempted to do, I had to do my best.”

Lewis died Oct. 28, just days shy of her 96th birthday. Her husband, Robert Lewis, who was also a respected Natchez educator, preceded her in death. The middle school now bears his name.

Theresa Lewis, though she had moved to Texas in recent years to be near family, never stopped giving to the Natchez community, friend Willie Mae Bacon said.

Lewis was a lifelong member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority who attended meetings until she was no longer physically able.

“She took care of her financial part even after she couldn’t attend,” Bacon said. “She knew we were using it for scholarships.”

Lewis gave numerous scholarships to area high school seniors, including one to Bacon’s son, through her donations to AKA and straight from her pocket.

Lewis was considered a founding member of the local AKA chapter, joining the sorority only a month after its inception. She also obtained “golden soror” status, and helped grow the group to more than 90 members.

“We are going to miss her,” Bacon said. “She worked until the end. Anyone that needed some help, Mrs. Lewis was there.”

In the school district, Lewis worked as an administrator in the late 1950s at Prince Street School, a school that housed primary-school-aged children then, and West Primary. She then moved on to become the elementary coordinator, working in a supervisory role over the elementary principals.

She retired from the district in 1979.

Lewis lived in Natchez until recently, maintaining close friendships with those she had come to know over the years.

“She was really a true friend,” Mary Gladys Stanton said. “We checked on each other daily after we both retired, just to make sure we were alright.”

Lewis was also a member of the Catherine Williams Homemakers, the Southwest Unit of the Retired Educators of Mississippi and The Links.

Funeral services are at 11 a.m. today at Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.