By Karen Rathe

Marie Lewis remembers well the first time she took up crocheting in earnest. Her youngest daughter, then in 7th grade, was abusing drugs and had run away. “I did it to save my sanity,” says Lewis, 91. “There was nothing I could do. Friends from church came over and helped me get through the night.” 

That evening, her eldest daughter brought over yarn and a hook. “That night I started crocheting, just to fix my mind,” she said. 

Lewis has lived in the same Loyal Heights home since 1962. Over the years, her crocheted afghans have become legendary; she estimates she has made well over 600. Most have been donated to charity; a few are sold. Last year alone she took 133 afghans to the Seattle Union Gospel Mission. “It’s surely worthwhile,” Lewis said. “People use them.” 

Lewis says when she runs out of yarn, “I panic.” Friends and neighbors often donate yarn to her; otherwise it would be a challenge given that she lives on just $445 per month in Social Security. Her son Mark lives with her; health issues prevent him from working consistently. How does she do it? “You have to manage!” Lewis says with a laugh. “I’m not a quitter!” 

Lewis came to the Puget Sound region as a 19-year-old bride in 1945. She rode the train out from her home in Tennessee to meet her new in-laws, who lived in Burien. She had met her husband while he was stationed with the Air Force nearby. “Nobody told me there were two train stations in Seattle!” she exclaimed, referring to King Street Station and Union Station, both in operation at the time. She arrived at one; her in-laws, alas, were waiting at the other. She ended up taking a taxi to their home.

Born Ruby Marie Thetford, Lewis was raised on a subsistence farm in rural Dyersburg, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis. She was one of 9 children, mostly girls. “We raised all of our own food – vegetables, chickens, pigs,” she said. A bright spot, she said, was going to church each Sunday with her grandmother. After completing the eighth grade, Lewis helped out at home, and at age 16 began work in nearby cotton fields. She later waitressed in a nearby town, where she met her husband. 

After moving here she worked in a nursing home and fished in Alaska on a family-owned boat. In the off season she continued with restaurant work, including the Ballard Smoke Shop on Ballard Avenue, Plantation Southern Foods on 20th Avenue NW, and Garski’s Scarlet Tree on Roosevelt. Eventually she got tired of it, she said, in particular, tending bar. Harassment came with the job; there were “fast hands,” she said, “from many different directions.” 

“I know what those women are up against,” Lewis added, referring to actresses and others who have spoken up recently in the news about sexual harassment by men in positions of power. She said she did her best to fight them off; sometimes that meant quitting a job.

After waitressing, “I took some time off and then began cleaning houses. I was my own boss, set my own hours and salary. So much better than restaurant work,” Lewis said. 

These days, Lewis is generally up and crocheting around 8 a.m. and often puts in 10 to 12 hours a day. She listens to television and sips on water or juice. Two consecutive cataract surgeries in late summer barely slowed her down; within a few weeks she was back with the hook and yarn. She completed a Seattle Mariners’ colored afghan for a customer in Oregon, and enjoys the local sports team themes. She credits her good health and longevity to living “by the grace of God.”

Her church friends continue to look after her. She’s a longtime member of the United Evangelical Free Church in Crown Hill, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary. Church members as well as a youth group occasionally help her with yard work, plumbing and home repairs. In turn, she bakes dozens of cookies to fuel holiday decoration parties and the like. 

Lewis occasionally sells her afghans, although she balks at accepting money for them. She admits, however, that that “enables me to buy more yarn!” “What I like most,” she confides, “is finding someone in a wheelchair and putting (an afghan) on them. They are suddenly so nice and warm!” 

To learn more about Marie Lewis' work, including how to donate yarn and purchasing info, please email mariesafghans@gmail.com. 

Ballard resident Karen Rathe is a writer, editor and educator.